Are Teens Addicted to Social Media?

The high-tech digital age is placing pressure on the teens of today. All of the social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tumblr are engaging teenagers in unhealthy habits, and they can’t stop, not even to sleep, sometimes. A recent study found that teens who engage in social media at night are at risk for increased anxiety and depression. Hence, it also disrupts their sleeping patterns (Udorie, 2015). Teens feel like they’re going to miss out on something and often wake up every time their cell phone dings. Plus, the emotional investment that teens have with social media is unhealthy. It’s a known fact that teenagers need more sleep than adults; with the lack of causing irritability, colds, flu symptoms, and are less likely to finish their homework.

Social media causes teens to feel stress about being perfect, to look perfect, to act perfect, or to have the perfect friends. Most teens don’t meet these standards because these standards are all fake. Social Media sites (FB, Insta, SnapC...) are set up to make people believe that everyone is an adventurous world traveler, and most teens are not. We all want people to believe that our lives are fantastic. It’s when teens don’t meet these ridiculous standards that self-loathing and bullying starts (Udorie, 2017). A recent study published in Forbes looked at risks teens face online and if they would discuss these risks with their parents. Such risks that are encountered are information breaches, online harassment (bullying), sexual solicitations, and exposure to explicit content. They found that only 15% of risks were reported to parents. Teens didn’t tell their parents because they were embarrassed or feared a negative reaction. Plus, they found that 45% of teens and tweens can’t spot fake news and two thirds of the participant's in the study said they trusted information from their parents but prefer to get it from social media, mainly Facebook (Stop Medicine Abuse, 2017).

Not only has the digital age taken over, its also the age of a deadly opioid epidemic, deadly synthetic drugs, and the legalization of marijuana. Research has shown that teenagers are less likely to try or use drugs. However, are teens replacing the need for risk taking with social media? Are teens becoming addicted to social media? Some researchers would answer both questions with a firm, yes. Teens are consistently stimulated and entertained by computers and phones. Since the inception of the smart phone teen drug and alcohol use has declined. Prevention specialists would like to think that their efforts are working, however, much like drugs and alcohol, social media stimulates a their brains in the same way as the impulses of drug and alcohol use would. It’s always good when teens don’t try or abuse drugs or alcohol. But is the digital phenomenon mimicking addiction and what could that do to a persons brain over time?

Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (2017), plans to begin research on how smartphones and social media affect teenagers and whether or not there is a correlation between smartphones and the decline of drug use among teens. She stated that interactive social media and video games are an alternative reinforcement to drugs, adding that teens can get high when playing these games (Ritchel, 2017). Another doctor weighed in, Dr. Harris said (2017), “she had not considered technology’s role and would not rule it out given the appeal of the devices, but said she was hopeful drug use by teenagers had decreased because of public education and prevention campaigns were working.” According to Dr. Joseph Lee, a psychiatrist in Minneapolis who treats teenagers at Hazelden (2017), said he suspected that drug use and experimentation had changed because of the opioid epidemic had exposed so many people and communities to the deadly risks of drug use (Ritchel).

In conclusion, Smartphones and computers are a growing source of concern for young people. Drug use has fallen for youths age 12-17, but that decline is not affecting college students. Researchers plan to continue efforts to find out why and to find out how we can reach young adults. Smartphones and computers are essential to daily life and researchers are just beginning to understand what these devices might do to harm the brain. There is little evidence that young people are actually addicted to smartphones, but experts on drug-use behavior believe they are onto something. More studies have to be done on the topic. In the meantime, here are some helpful hints for parents:

More than ever it’s important to have the social media talk with your teenagers. Teens should hear this message from you, the parent(s). Teens need to understand that social media outlets are not real, they’re fake. It’s a fake time waster that makes it seem as though everyone on these sites is living a lavish intriguing life. As grown-ups, we know that social media sites such as Facebook, twitter, etc.. are illusions but our kids grew up with it. We didn’t. We can separate social media from real life, but our kids have a hard time distinguishing the difference. When talking to your teen try to steer clear of statements like “when I was young,” and “you don’t know what you’re talking about." Teens do know what they’re talking about it; it’s just that their reality is different than ours.

Helpful tips for parents from Stop Medicine Abuse:

1. Listen without judgment: technology is changing the way teens develop. So it doesn’t do anyone any good to jump to conclusions. Listen to understand how their world is different, and all the content they’re exposed to that may be alarming to us. Listening is key to understanding the challenges teens face.

2. Do not lecture: Many teens perceive lecturing as a form of punishment, and they tune out or rebel. Teens best respond to calm and understanding reactions. Plus, they’ll be more likely to reach out for help in the future if they don’t fear negative reactions or punishment.

3. Look for educational opportunities: Teens trust information from their parents. Talk to your teens about recent news and online risks. Teens know what is going on in the world, they’re not sheltered from anything. But they can be educated about taboo topics. By doing so, parents will know that their teens will have the correct information and it will bring the parent, peace of mind.

References

Ritchel, M. (2017) Are teenagers replacing drugs with smartphones? New York Times. Retrieved

from: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/13/health/teenagers-drugs- smartphones.html

Stop Medicine Abuse Website/Blog. (2017) Not My Teen: Navigating risks teens face in a digital

age. Retrieved from: http://stopmedicineabuse.org/blog/details/not-my-teen-navigating-risks-teens-face-in-the-digital-age

Udorie, J. (2015). Social Media is Harming the Mental Health of Teenagers. The Guardian.

Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/16/social-media-mental-health-teenagers-government-pshe-lessons