I think my daughter uses her mobile phone excessively, how can I tell if she has a mobile phone addiction?

Generally, the establishment of addiction is a more or less gradual process that goes from the first sporadic contacts, where the person experiences pleasurable aspects that promote its repetition (called positive reinforcer) to the need to perform the behavior again and again in order to relieve the discomfort (called negative reinforcer).

It is also important to consider the developmental stage in the assessment. Naturally, changes occur in peer relationships, family relationships, and even daily routines such as sleep habits. In the initial stages of any pathological process in adolescents, it can be difficult to differentiate between normal adolescent behavior and that caused by an emerging addiction.

Therefore, the warning signs in this case are small changes that the adolescent gradually incorporates subtly but continuously, and which, at a certain point, go from being unusual and justifiable to both the adolescent and those around them, to no longer being so. These are all the indicators that can be seen in some of the following areas, and they must appear repeatedly and consistently over time:

• Disrupted sleep patterns , secondary to changes in sleep habits and reduced sleep hours due to addictive behavior. For example, staying online at night, going to bed late, and having great difficulty getting up in the morning.
• Altered appetite pattern , eats quickly and poorly to save time, may even skip meals.
• Less attention to hygiene, requiring reminders of basic hygiene routines that he used to follow (brushing his teeth, showering, changing his clothes).
• Neglect of important aspects of their life, motivated by the increased time spent on addictive behavior or preparing for it. Loss of track of time.
• Change in leisure style , change of interests, change of environment.
• Loss of friendships or interest in seeing them in person. They only have friends online.
• When unable to perform the addictive behavior, he shows irritability or appears languid doing nothing; he is able to lie in bed for hours.
• Fluctuating mood , tendency towards sadness, appears uncommunicative, withdrawn into his own world, and is bothered when asked about his daily life.
• Altered academic performance, school absenteeism, increased reports of uncooperative or disapproving attitude, increased failures and expulsions from class.
• Demand for products or applications that have an economic cost can lead to thefts, generally of small amounts of money, and especially from the closest family.
• High concentration or excitement due to the addictive activity, not responding to external stimuli (for example, not responding when called, raising voice or using foul language when interacting with the screen, etc.)