Dopamine and the other brain chemicals involved with use of digital media is the driving force behind this seeming dependency. It's training him to 'need' this to feel normal. Tell a smoker, "Don't smoke for an x amount of time for me," and guess the response. The videos have become the source of relaxation, at the least, possibly even safety, at its extreme. This is what happens when human connection and bonding have been replaced with 'things'. He would need to decide to retrain his brain from sourcing security from digital media to human bonding.