Teen Technology Addiction
A majority of today’s teens have never experienced life without the internet. They have used the internet since they were old enough to touch a screen and eagerly learn to utilize new technologies as quickly as it can be created. For many teens their use of the internet and technology can blossom into an addiction. Some teens become so obsessed with their on-line activity that all other important activities in their lives are neglected. When this occurs, there is no other way to describe this phenomena other than a tech addiction. We are often asked by parents “How do we break my child’s addiction to technology?”. Our answer is simple……Family Bootcamp.
-Signs of Teen Technology and Internet Addiction include:
-Majority of friends are poeole he or she has never actually met in person
-Anxiety and irritability when away from the internet
-Being on-line becomes more important than time with friends or hobbies that were previously enjoyed
-Drop in grades in school
-Lack of sleep because of on-line activity.
-Meeting up with people met online
-Missing meals or lack of nutritious eating because of time spent on-line
-Lack of interest in personal hygiene and appearance
-Dishonesty from use of parents’ credit cards for internet purchases for games, etc.
As with most addictions, technology and internet addictions typically are driven by underlying emotional issues. Examples of these underlying issues include:
-Stress or worry from life’s demands such as school, relationships and family problems
-Boredom, depression or lack of satisfaction from other life activities
-Irrational belief of his/her purpose or existence is to be enterained
-Lack of self-confidence leading to the development of a different identity online
The obvious intervention for tech and internet addiction is to unplug the teen from technology for a period of time while providing opportunities to learn to manage life without a dependence on technology and the internet. Family Bootcamp provides families with an excuse to “unplug” from internet and spent time actually working on solutions for family problems and conflicts that stem from overuse of technology in the home.