Social Media and Internet Addiction On Teens
Social media is a source that most teens nowadays utilize to communicate and engage with one another. However, it has gotten to a point where it is out of control. It is an issue that has now gotten out of hands due to the fact that technology keeps advancing and updating day by day. It is also something most young adults and teens are always keeping out an eye for.
Nonetheless it is not just an issue that intertwines with technology advancing, but with what social media portrays, the standards it establishes amongst teenagers, influencers, video games, livestreaming, etc. This comes to show that the addiction for social media and the internet is way more deeper than only technology, like the iPhone for instance upgrading year by year.
Predominantly most teens and young adults don’t like to miss what’s new on social media, that is just the reality of the use of social media and internet. Others do not like to stop playing video games and an endless amount of other internet uses. Especially when social media and the internet it’s used by these age groups.
Parents Concerns Increase for Social Media Addiction Rather than Drug Addiction in Teens
Well now, this excessive use of internet and social media is something that has a lot of parents concerned for their teens even more than for the substance or drugs abuse and addiction. Some factors that parents fear when it comes to internet use addiction is that it might expose their teens up for:
- Cyberbullying.
- Explicit content.
- Getting scammed.
- Predators and more.
Overall, addiction can make teens more vulnerable and easy targets for many different consequences that might be harmful to them and even to their families. In fact there has been studies done that actually prove to this concern. Some of the telltale signs of problematic social media use can mimic the symptoms of behavioral addictions and substance use disorders, but on a smaller scale, said Oberleitner.
One of the biggest red flags is when the excessive use of social media platforms interferes with other daily activities.
Parents Perspective of Internet Use
According to the results of a survey published in JAMA Network Open on Oct. 26. More parents are concerned about internet addiction by their adolescent children than substance addiction like mentioned before. Parents of children aged 9 to 15 years see internet use as a double-edged sword. Parents have the perspective that internet can be for good or for bad it all depends how it is utilized and how parents supervise the use of their teens, and amount that teens are spending on social media.
While 81% of U.S. adults support social media companies requiring parental consent for minors to create an account, that share drops to 46% among U.S. teens. Adults are also about twice as likely as teens to support setting limits on how much time minors can spend on social media sites (69% vs. 34%).
Overall, concerns about internet addiction outweighed those related to substance abuse. Dr. Zachary Ginder, a psychological consultant and doctor of clinical psychology, emphasized the growing apprehension about problematic internet use among youth.
How Can Individuals Detox from Social Media
It does not all have to revolve around social media. There are alternative ways that can reduce the amount of screen time that teens are spending on the internet. There are users that have stated how ashamed they are of the amount of time they spend on social media. The average time a person spends on the phone is of about 2 and 1/2 hours per day. Meanwhile teens double or exceed that average time.
On the other hand, Reddit users have shared tips to detox from the mobile, which some of the stated tips are, “Determine what you are spending most of your time doing on social media. If it’s meme hunting and sharing, try eliminating that. Find alternative ways to get important areas of social media in a less addictive way.”
Another very important one was, “Try to find things to do that can keep you entertained and busy during the times that you usually want to pick up your phone.” These are really useful tips and alternatives that people can use to decrease the amount of time on the phone.
Written by Jeanette Sanchez
Sources:
Fox News: Parents of teens more concerned about internet addiction than drug use, study finds: “Problematic patterns”
Pew Research Center: 81% of U.S. adults versus 46% of teens favor parental consent for minors to use social media
Arab Times Kuwait News: “Teens” internet addiction now a bigger concern than substance abuse
U.S. News & World Report: 1 in 5 U.S. Parents Worry Their Teen Is Addicted to the Internet
Fox News: Excessive social media use has many of the same effects as substance abuse, says expert
Featured Image Courtesy of Daniele Marzocchi Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of BrickinNick Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
