Is my child addicted to their mobile phone?
The concept of technology addiction arises as an explanation for the uncontrollable and harmful use of information and communication technologies. The concepts of use, abuse, and addiction describe the different degrees of technology use, ranging from healthy to pathological behavior.
When is normal use and when is it not?
- Normal use - Use of technology without abusive or addictive signs, so that it does not interfere with obligations or leisure activities.
- Abuse - High use of technology, in frequency and duration, that interferes with the person's daily life.
- Addiction - Abusive and sustained use of new technologies despite the negative consequences at a personal, school, family and social level.
These addictions are characterized by a loss of control and psychological dependence on activities or situations that, in themselves, are not harmful to a person's health. They result in a disinterest in other rewarding activities and serious interference in all aspects of the affected person's life. Thus, technology use shifts from healthy to pathological depending on the intensity, time, and money invested, and ultimately, on the degree of interference in the family, social, and academic relationships of those involved.
Symptoms of a technology addiction
Excessive use of the Internet, various mobile devices, computers, video games, or applications generates a series of symptoms that are identified in other chemical and non-chemical addictions:
- Dependence - A strong desire or compulsion to continue performing the activity that provides pleasure or a feeling of well-being.
- Tolerance - An adaptive state characterized by a decrease in the pleasure response with the same amount of activity.
- Withdrawal syndrome - The combination of different physical and mental reactions that occur when a person is unable to perform the activity to which they are addicted.
- Loss of control - The behavior tends to become more frequent; the adolescent cannot limit the time spent using technology and, as a result, stops performing basic daily life activities.
- Denial of the problem – The teenager does not experience his technology addiction behavior as a problem.
- The abandonment of other interests
In addition to the direct consequences of addiction, the misuse of the Internet facilitates access to harmful content and increases the risk of harassment and loss of privacy.
The dangers of creating fictitious identities, fueled by self-deception and fantasy, must also be considered, as this blurs the lines between the intimate, the private, and the public. Adolescents are immersed in a stage of physical and emotional change, a time of constructing their own identity. It is a phase of experimentation and seeking new sensations, a preparation for adulthood that requires parental guidance and supervision.
Risk factors for developing a technology addiction
Adolescence is a developmental stage during which the individual may be especially vulnerable and which will be resolved more or less adequately depending on various factors.
Behavioral addictions among adolescents have been associated with symptoms of depression, suicidal ideation, heightened anxiety, and poor overall health. The consequences of these addictions can be severe if left untreated.
There are certain personality traits or emotional states that increase psychological vulnerability to addictions:
- Impulsiveness.
- The tendency to experience restlessness, irritability, sadness.
- Intolerance to stimuli that do not cause pleasure.
- The difficulties in coping with everyday challenges.
- The constant need to have new experiences and to experience new sensations (search for intense emotions, excitement, disinhibition, taste for risk).
- Excessive shyness, low self-esteem, or personal dissatisfaction with life.
Warning signs of video game addiction
Teenagers with pre-existing mental health problems such as depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), social phobia, or hostility are at greater risk of becoming addicted.
Lack of family cohesion, quality social relationships, and stressful circumstances (school failure, emotional frustrations, or competitiveness) or feelings of existential emptiness (social isolation or lack of goals) can also be risk factors.
The presence, prevalence, and impact of technology addictions are becoming increasingly visible in society, but there is still a great deal of ignorance surrounding them. Currently, the intervention that needs to be strengthened is prevention, starting in schools, institutes, and within social and healthcare settings.
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