By addiction we understand that pattern of behavior or habit that leads a person to the incessant search for immediate satisfaction mediated by the consumption of a substance or other behavior, or to the search for relief in order to avoid discomfort in the absence of the desired stimulus.
Psikids experts explain that addiction is classified as a brain disease and that it can have serious consequences for the individual, so early detection is important.
An example of addiction is that of new technologies which, although they make our daily lives easier and provide us with benefits in many aspects, inappropriate use can have consequences, especially in children. But how can we detect if our children’s use of WhatsApp, social networks, the Internet or video games (among others) is being problematic and we should act?
Symptoms of addiction to new technologies
Parents are increasingly concerned about the time their children spend with ICTs, and whether these have an impact on the different areas of growth and personal development of the child (academic, relational, family, health).
We hear from some parents that their child “is obsessed with the computer”, “spends hours and hours in front of the screen”, “does not meet with his friends and plays with friends he meets online”, “gets aggressive if we try to take away his cell phone or computer”, and many other examples that would tell us that something is interfering in a negative way with an adequate behavior of your child.
Even so, the tolerance in some families to this type of behavior is sometimes surprising, as well as worrying, since it can delay in time for the child to receive adequate help.
These are some of the symptoms that should alert us to a possible addiction of our children to new technologies:
- It is a situation that dominates the user and becomes nuclear in the life of the person, occupying a large part of the time and obviating other needs or daily activities.
- Difficulty to stay away from the desired stimulus when it cannot be used. This situation is experienced with a reaction of anguish, anxiety, irritability, restlessness; it can generate discord with the people around them, and even aggressive outbursts in the face of the attempt of external control by the parents.
- There is an excessive desire to use ICT.
- Feeling of very high excitement and activation when in front of the computer or when using other ICTs.
- Tendency to social isolation, absorbed by the tool that generates the addictive behavior.
- Possibility of decreased school performance.
- Deterioration of social and family relationships.
- Lack of recognition of the problems caused by this behavior.
It should be noted that it is not about making the use of ICT inaccessible, but the objective in ICT addiction would be to make a CONTROLLED use. In addition to seeking professional advice if there is evidence of risk or possible addiction, there are other preventive measures that can be taken at home (already discussed in the blog above), such as offering children healthy leisure alternatives or controlling their use of ICTs (both in terms of time and content supervision).