Stages of development
Teenage Internet addiction has a number of root causes and can be expressed in various forms.
Based on the time spent at the computer, three stages of addiction development are distinguished. At the first stage, a person studies the possibilities of the Internet network with further adjustment of virtual reality to himself, making up for the lack of attention and information in real life. The second stage captivates the teenager with its capabilities; he begins to spend more time in front of the monitor. For an uncommunicative teenager, searching for friends on the World Wide Web becomes the only source of information and communication support. This is how addiction to the Internet is formed among teenagers, when a person completely refutes the real world and real communication. The third phase of addiction becomes visible to people around him when the teenager spends 24 hours a day online and reacts aggressively to any comment. The last stage is formative, as it becomes chronic.
When turning off the computer from the network, dependent teenagers feel irritated and are not interested in the problems of their environment. Over time, spending time at the computer weakens, but the person does not experience joy in life, becomes withdrawn and depressed. Interest revives when he finds an interesting topic or new interlocutors online.
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Excessive passion for the Internet and computer games gradually disrupts the physical and intellectual development of a teenager.
Lack of real communication
This sounds quite ironic and paradoxical. After all, one of the goals of the creators of the Internet is to bring people from all over the world closer together, giving them the opportunity to communicate at a distance. However, many are increasingly choosing virtual rather than real communication: it is convenient, simple, prompt and confidential. Developers of various instant messengers, chats and social networks regularly offer new applications. Teenagers use them especially actively. Gradually, virtual reality begins to replace live communication. It is much easier for them to write to their friends than to say something to them in person. This behavior negatively affects adolescents’ personal relationships, including with family.
How to get rid of it?
Treatment of addiction to computer games or setegolism is a long process.
Patients themselves rarely realize their addiction, and for effective therapy this step is very important. Therefore, to form a critical assessment of your behavior, consultation with a specialist (psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist) is necessary.
It is more difficult for children and adolescents to overcome gambling addiction than for mature people; they have not yet fully developed the mechanisms of self-control and conscious behavior. Treatment of child addiction requires the consolidation of efforts of teachers, psychologists and parents. Only by combining them can we help little people and young people get rid of virtual addiction.
For a specialist involved in the treatment of computer addiction, it is important to find out the cause of its occurrence. According to statistics, this disease affects people with low self-esteem, hidden depression, neuroses, and mental trauma. During psychotherapy sessions or individual psychocorrectional classes, work is carried out aimed at changing the life priorities of patients, displacing fictional phantoms, forming new positive thinking and interesting hobbies (hobbies), developing communication skills with people around them, strong-willed qualities, and intellectual abilities.
Loss of privacy
With the free flow of information on the Internet, privacy threats are becoming another concern. Teenagers often exchange photos and personal information on social networks, even posting their phone numbers, family names, school and class numbers, home addresses, etc. All this can become a boon for various types of criminals: from thieves, scammers to maniacs. Parents should strictly warn their children about the rules of using the Internet, especially about posting personal information online.
Causes of Internet addiction in teenagers
The reasons often depend on the psychological characteristics of the teenager and his inclination to take any action. For example, today you can find a large selection of online games on the Internet. These include gambling such as casinos and poker. Young children often cannot tear themselves away from shooting games and various farms. The causes of Internet addiction in children and adolescents develop at a high speed, taking into account age-related changes and the formation of the psyche.
Sometimes the main reason is the pedagogical neglect of children, the tendency to network communication, exchange pictures, photographs, and information. This condition affects people who feel more confident without seeing their interlocutor. Another reason is the need for information search. It consists of constantly finding any information that is of interest. This often leads to information overload.
Lack of creativity
Decreased creativity in teenagers and students is another negative consequence of excessive use of the World Wide Web. The fact is that an important feature of the Internet is unlimited sources of information. This allows you to find answers to almost any queries. But such accessibility literally kills creativity and imagination. Teenagers and students, instead of thinking about a given project, immediately go on a journey through the World Wide Web to find a ready-made answer. Then the appropriate solution is simply copied and submitted to the teachers. It is not surprising that the problem of plagiarism and copyright infringement is very relevant in the modern world.
Psychologist's advice
In adults, children and adolescents, how to treat virtual addiction is determined by a qualified specialist, but close people with their feasible help can enhance the effect of psychotherapy.
1. It is important to build not a system of prohibitions with a sick child, but trusting communication, and gently guide adults towards awareness of real life values and knowledge of the beauty of the world around them. 2. It is necessary to correctly criticize loved ones (especially children), not to humiliate a person, but to express dissatisfaction with actions and behavior, while explaining why you think that this is not good. 3.
It is necessary to organize joint pastime (everyday life and leisure), without prolonged use of gadgets (tourism, travel, cleaning the house or garden (dacha), swimming in ponds, swimming pools, shopping, picnics, etc.). 4. It is important to encourage and help develop other hobbies of addicts (board games, going to cinemas, playing sports, dancing, mastering bicycle or motor transport, musical instruments, reading books, etc.). 5.
It is necessary to make your loved one feel your willingness to help and support, love and respect for his personality, inner world, interests and hobbies. 6. It is necessary to gradually reduce the time patients spend at the computer and do this gradually, as they realize their addiction (in adults) or by replacing them with other types of activities (in children).
With timely access to specialists and adequate treatment, you can get rid of computer addiction safely and without mental consequences.
Wasting time
This disadvantage of the Internet seems harmless at first glance. However, if not controlled, it can create a lot of trouble in both the business and personal sphere of a person. If you spend too long on the Internet, you will have to reduce time for other activities. Similar to an endless repository of entertainment, the World Wide Web easily turns into a “black hole” that sucks in, leaving no chance of salvation.
Many parents complain that with the advent of the Internet in their home, children began to go out less and less often, play sports, study, and simply meet with friends. Teenagers began to devote most of their lives to walking on the World Wide Web, forgetting about real matters. As a result, the performance of pupils and students is seriously declining, while payments for electricity and Internet bills are only increasing.
Consequences of Internet addiction in adolescents
Not every person becomes dependent on computer technology. It is worth noting several factors that provoke computer addiction, which are similar to alcohol or drug addiction: these are family problems and when the child does not have enough care and attention from his parents. He looks for support and distraction from everyday life in the virtual world.
The consequences of Internet addiction in children and adolescents are expressed in the following psychological manifestations:
- The teenager spends all his free time from studying in front of the monitor, refusing live communication and an active lifestyle;
- loss of interest in events happening around;
- appetite decreases;
- sleep phases are disrupted;
- emotional instability occurs;
- Irritability and anger appear when the computer is forced to turn off.
A teenager quickly develops an addictive state in which a person is not interested in anything other than visiting various types of sites on the Internet. Often people prone to mental imbalance, suspicious and emotionally weak individuals are subject to this condition. Teenagers are often depressed, have communication problems and have difficulty learning. People who spend most of their time at the computer are prone to obesity and diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
Cyber bullying
This term appeared in the Internet age. It is called bullying, offensive actions towards a person using the World Wide Web. This phenomenon can be considered one of the worst negative consequences of the Internet for children and adults. It is much easier for people to offend and write something negative in virtual reality than to say it in person. Although this type of harassment is not considered as painful as physical bullying, victims of cyberbullying can experience extreme discomfort and humiliation due to mean comments or opinions.
Teenagers' emotions, especially during puberty, are very heightened. And cyber-bullying can have a strong negative impact on them, even deteriorating their physical and mental condition. According to research results, older schoolchildren and first-year students most often suffer from cyber-bullying. In some cases, such pressure led teenagers to mental confusion and even suicide.
Signs of illness
Signs of addiction to virtual space in adolescents are expressed in the form of the following symptoms:
- disturbance in motor activity;
- disruption of daily routine and time perception;
- problems with sleep quality and insomnia;
- decreased concentration;
- social isolation.
The only topic of conversation is computer technology and various sites that are popular among teenagers. Being in the virtual world, the child experiences a feeling of real euphoria, because here he is freed from “real” problems and life difficulties. Returning to the real world is accompanied by apathy and aggressiveness. At a certain stage in the development of the disease, the teenager loses his real friends and has virtually no contact with his peers. It is important to pay attention to the fact that talking with a teenager about a problem can cause a violent reaction in the form of anger and aggression.
According to experts, one of the main reasons for the appearance of this disease is the lack of parental attention to the child’s life.
The Internet is an important tool for finding information, learning and communicating
Risks
Computer addiction is dangerous due to the following manifestations:
- impaired sense of reality;
- impaired perception and sensation of time, up to the complete loss of this understanding (in the last stages of addiction, people may forget about food, sleep and other needs for several days);
- loss of self-control and self-regulation, the ability to direct one’s actions;
- loss of critical thinking;
- decreased activity and performance;
- problems with sleep and the sleep-wake cycle.
Some scientists note that the computer penetrates into the inner world of a person, which often provokes an existential crisis, cognitive and emotional disorders. The virtual world has its own characteristics, which often affects the worldview and value system of an individual, revising views of oneself and the world.
Loss of authority of parents and teachers
Children's interaction with the Internet creates many problems for both parents and teachers: it has become much easier for schoolchildren and students to deceive their teachers by quickly finding the answer to all their homework without much effort. Gradually, deception becomes a habit, and children increasingly begin to lie to their parents. Realizing the ease of finding information, teenagers may lose respect for adults. This entails negative actions and a deterioration in the behavior of children.
