Author: contributor

Many teenagers struggle with internet addiction because they are at the stage of their lives where they want to be involved in everything happening around them. This is why you will find some teenagers who would prefer to spend time online, than with people around them in reality.

Parents and caregivers need to watch out for their teenagers and be more intentional about knowing the activities they engage in when they are online. In this post, you will learn some signs that tell if your teenager may be addicted to the internet.  

Preoccupation with the internet

One of the ways to know that your teen may be addicted to the internet is when they are always thinking or obsessed about being online.

They will always look forward to the activities on the internet, and they might be sad when they are missing out on anything. When you have a conversation with them, you will notice that they always talk about the internet, or being online generally.

Aversion to socializing

To some teenagers who are addicted to the internet, the online world is a safe place for them where they have online friends that they may not have met in their lives.

Therefore, they are likely not to prefer socializing with people because of their online connections. When you notice that your teenager does not like mingling with people, it might be internet addiction at play.

Average or poor academic performance

Many teenagers who are addicted to the internet might not have a good academic record, and the reason is simple.

Most of them spend so much time on the internet, and they don’t allot the same amount of time to read their books and study for tests or assessments. Hence, they may likely come up with poor or mediocre academic performance.

Withdrawal symptoms when cut off from the internet

Just like other forms of behavioral addiction, when your teenager does not have access to the internet, they might experience some withdrawal symptoms. Some of them are anxiety, fatigue, depression, irritability, etc.

Many parents, guardians, and caregivers are unaware that their children can be addicted to the internet. Once you observe that your kids are spending several hours on the internet without doing anything productive, addiction might be in play.

In addition, if you notice that your child acts unacceptably anytime they are not granted access to the internet, they might be addicted.

Here are some ways to control internet usage in kids to prevent addiction

• Create a routine for them

You can checkmate your child’s internet use when they are working with a routine. It is important to make them understand that they need to be equally invested in other aspects of their lives apart from the internet.

Hence, they should have a limit to the time they spend surfing the online world. When they have tests, assignments, and other serious academic activities, their internet time should take a heavy cut.

• Monitor your child’s internet use

Even though children don’t like to be monitored, they should be made to understand that it is for their good. Many children are exposed to content that affects their minds negatively.

If they are continually exposed, it contributes to the kind of person they would grow up to be. As parents and caregivers, you have to be fully involved in your child’s internet activities.

• Suggest productive online activities

Even though your kids have some favorite activities on the internet, you need to engage them in things that would make them better individuals.

For instance, you can enroll your kid in an online academy where they learn important life skills like cooking, playing a musical instrument, learning how to draw or sing, etc.

Some of these skills would be far more beneficial than wasting their time on the internet on other unprofitable activities.

Reducing screen time should be a priority in your home. Initially, your kids might not be comfortable with your rigid decisions about their screen time, but they will come to understand your reasons in the future.

Many people love being on social media because of how engaged we get. For most individuals, social media is one of the best ways to get away from the stress that life brings.

When there are trends on social media, everyone follows through to enjoy the creativity that people all over the world provide.

The downside to this is, the social media negatively affects us in many ways than we can imagine, especially our mental health.  

• It is addictive

A good number of people are not aware that they are addicted to social media. They spend several hours on the internet, and they end up not doing other productive things.

Since many people use social media to escape the reality of life, they end up being in the same spot when they are off social media.

This messes with their mental health because they are back to reality with no permanent solution in sight.

• It makes people less happy

One of the reasons why people are not permanently happy with the thrills that social media brings is, it is not the true reflection of what people are experiencing.

Many people are not truly happy but when they get on social media, they upload good-looking pictures where they are all smiles. When some people see these pictures, they assume that everything is going fine for them, and they get depressed.

• It causes jealousy

Many people get jealous when they compare their lives to others and they see that they are not possibly meeting up with the expected standards. This causes jealousy which can induce mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and the likes.

People need to understand that the life of social media should not be treated equally with what happens in reality. Everything might look fanciful in the virtual world, but it is not always the same physically.

Therefore, focusing on what matters, in reality, is one of the ways to live a pressure-free life because you will be going at your pace.

These days we spend several hours on the internet for different reasons. For some, it could be work, and on the other hand, it could be pure recreational fun for others. However, it is imperative to note that there is a thin line between normal internet usage and internet addiction.

Below are some of the adverse effects of internet addiction

Isolation

Someone who is addicted to the internet would prefer to spend lots of their time alone.

They will rather stay by their computer or mobile devices, locked up in a room, than hang around with family and friends. This act makes their social life dysfunctional and anytime they are in public, there are no social skills to exhibit.

For these kind of people, they are great at communicating online but when they meet up with people in reality, it is challenging for them for interact.

Health problems

Unknown to several people, the internet causes health problems. One common adverse effects is eye problems. This is caused by spending several hours on the screen. Also, people develop poor posture when they sit down for too long looking at the computer.

Another notable feature is, people who are addicted to the internet rarely have time to exercise. And this increases the chances of obesity because there is reduced physical activity.

Life interference

Internet addiction makes an individual to lose focus of other aspects in their lives because they have made addiction their primary focus. In addition, these individuals would prioritize the internet over people in reality.

Withdrawal symptoms

Internet addicts are most times aggressive when they are disturbed when they are busy on the internet. They would snap angrily at anyone who tries to disturb their internet time.

Safety concerns

People who spend much time on the internet are susceptible to various hazards on the internet. They would be too engrossed in their internet activity before they realize that their privacy is being infringed on and they are at risk with whom they are interacting with.  

For most people, going online is a normal way of life. The internet can help you conduct meetings, make new relationships and perform other functions. On the other hand, some people have used the internet as a means of escape, thus resulting in addiction.  

Some people also use the internet to engage in risky behavior which is detrimental to any aspect of their health. And the sad part is, there are many addicted internet users who are unaware of what they are battling with.

Below are signs that tells you someone is addicted:

Bad priority skills

If you see someone who takes the internet importantly than other aspects of their lives, it is possible they are addicted. You can confirm this if you discover the person has started losing interest in other areas of their lives.

At that point, other things would come secondary because what primarily matters to them is the internet.

Mood modification

If an individual uses the internet to fix up his or her mood, there is an addiction in play. This means it would be nearly impossible for an individual or activity in reality to help them feel better.

Anytime they feel anxious, depressed and the likes, they come to the internet to feel better.

Denial and Minimization

People who are addicted to the internet do not like talking about how much time they spend on the internet. They would rather lie than say the truth because they know you would complain.

Similarly, these set of people would hide from you when they want to use the internet. They know they can be so engrossed in it, and it would certainly piss you off.

Withdrawal symptoms

If someone who is addicted to the internet is taken off the internet for a while, they begin to exhibit nasty behaviors called withdrawal symptoms. However, if they get access to the internet by any means, they are restored to normalcy.

If you know anyone who is exhibiting signs of internet addiction, it is advisable to seek help for them before it gets worse.

When people hear of PTSD it oftentimes relates to veterans, as this is what many of them experience post-war. But even so, PTSD－also known as post-traumatic stress disorder－can affect anyone who has experienced something horrific. In fact, it is defined as “a psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape or other violent personal assault.” That’s why it is quite difficult for those who are faced with such to go through day-to-day life like everyone else, and as a result, some turn to addiction in an attempt to cope with their disorder.

First and foremost, certain signs－and/or symptoms－that one might experience as a victim of PTSD are “irritability, re-experiencing the trauma through flashbacks, severe anxiety, and distrust.” However, these are only some (to name a few) as each person’s experience may differ. In turn, to release such tension these individuals may turn to drugs which “increase pleasure, decrease anxiety, and provide a distraction from difficult emotions.” Yet consequently, even though the substance may pose as beneficial in the moment it does more harm than help. The same goes for alcohol as well－not just drugs. 

Fortunately, there are better ways (for those who are faced with PTSD) to overcome－that don’t involve the unhealthy aid of addiction. Treatment can come in many forms such as medication or therapy. When receiving counseling－and/or talking to a medical expert－the individual can then take the next step towards living a happier and healthier life. Through doing so they will no longer have to feel imprisoned by their disorder and addiction, but can instead start working their way towards freedom from both. The health professional can then offer a personalized－and/or individualized style－of care to better fit the individual’s needs, based on whether he/she is amid his/her addiction. 

In conclusion, the traumatic memories that the individual was faced with won’t go away because he/she won’t be able to change what has already happened－and/or change the past－but what he/she can do is move forward from it. Getting treatment as soon as possible, when symptoms of addiction are first present, can allow one to find himself/herself on a much faster road to recovery. It is then that he/she can defeat the root of the problem right at its source, rather than to numb it with substance abuse.

Technology can pose as an advantage to society, but with such benefits come disadvantages as well. For, a number of people use the internet to access resources that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise, such as; the news, and other important information. But, when these simple accesses stem into full fledged addiction, internet may no longer be seen as a friend to them, but rather an enemy. In turn, it is important to know how far is too far, and to always be on the lookout for signs of technology addiction, not only in ourselves, but in those around us, so that action can be taken within the early stages.

First and foremost, technology addiction is defined as, “an impulse control disorder that involves the obsessive use of mobile devices”. Yet, even so, in today’s world we oftentimes struggle to distinguish such, since we surround ourselves, and are surrounded by technology on a daily basis. It is everywhere that we turn. On billboards, on television, etc. And consequently, in response, we find ourselves desensitized to it because we are so used to it just “being there”.

But, when technology is taken away from the life of an individual and he/she finds himself/herself struggling to cope, this may be an issue that he/she needs to take at face value. For, some symptoms of internet addiction are as follows; “feeling preoccupied with the internet by thinking about previous online activity, feeling the need to use the internet excessively to achieve satisfaction, feeling anxious when away from technology, feeling the need to respond immediately to one’s smartphone, etc”. But, these are only a few of the several signs to watch out for, as many others remain.

In conclusion, this form of dependence serves as a great cause for concern, as it is one addiction in particular that can easily slip under the radar. Someone may even poke fun of it by saying that he/she is addicted to the internet because he/she likes/enjoys live streaming. And since technology is now seen as an essential tool, and/or aspect, many may find it hard to displace themselves from their phones, and other devices, and enjoy the day for what it is, rather than from behind a small rectangle screen. As a result, technology addiction can happen to anyone, even those seen as the most strong minded. But, even so, those who are struggling to regain their life back, mustn’t fear talking to someone close, and/or seeking help/treatment because they can overcome.