Many of today’s teens spend
much of their time on computer monitor or smart phones. Parents who would prefer
that their teen’s faces were buried in books might suspect the cause of this
phenomenon is technology addiction. Internets addiction is an umbrella term that
refers to the compulsive need to spend a great deal of time on the internet
relationships, work, and health are allowed to suffer. The person becomes
dependent on using internet. Internet addiction is a psychological disorder.
Other names if internet addiction includes addiction disorder, problem internet
use, pathological computer use and heavy internet use. It should note that the
term addiction is considered distracting by some professional. Kimerly young,
director of the centre for addiction recovery defines technology addiction as a
habitual compulsion to engage in using technology instead of addressing life’s
problems. Internet or computer addiction manifest in several ways that cover
various degrees and areas of internet usage like: Information overload: Too much
surfing leads to decrease productivity at work and less interaction with family.
Compulsion: Excessive time spent in online activities such as gaming, gambling,
trading of stocks. Cyber addiction: Too much surfing porn sites. Cyber
relationship: Excessive use of social networking sites to create relationships.
Teens are susceptible to technology addiction for several reasons. First, teens
tend to have poor coping mechanisms in the face of stress they turn to what’s
relaxing to them, they focus on videos, games and social media. It’s easy for
them to wipe out a mobile in such their focus from real world to the virtual
world. An addiction to the internet is manifested in both physical and emotional
symptoms. These signs are basically warning that the addiction may be
developing.
A person who performs activities such as web browsing or online gaming, they
interact with their family and friends less and less over time. They became
unable to focus on work at hand. People who are depressed may use the internet
as a type of “self medication” allowing themselves to escape and ignore the
problems they are currently facing by immersing themselves in the online world.
Since internet addiction is relatively new, it can be hard to find a real life
support group dedicated to the issue. There are some internet addiction support
groups on the internet .As parents, if we severely limit a child, they may rebel
and go to excess. But we should monitor their activities and internet usage.
Expose kids to other hobbies and activities. Restrict the use of computer or
tablets. Talk to your child about underlying issue. Teenagers often rebel
against their parents but if they hear the same information from any other
person, they may be more inclined to listen. Try a doctor or any family friend.
Don’t be afraid to seek professional counseling if you are concerned about your
child.