Young people’s addiction to new technologies

por CC Adicciones

No one can deny that new technologies such as mobile phones or the internet have been among the inventions that have made things easier for today’s society. Not only do they give us access to a volume of information never before seen in human history. They also allow us to do so at a speed and with a simplicity that would have been impossible to imagine just a few decades ago. Children and adults have become accustomed to living with new technologies, not only as just another element of our society, but as something indispensable for most of us.

However, although new technologies are fantastic because they improve people’s lives, misuse can become an addiction with very negative consequences. Of all users, adolescents are at the greatest risk of abusing information and communication technologies (ICT). On the one hand, they are in the process of forming an adult personality and, on the other, they are more susceptible to potentially addictive behaviours. Knowing how to detect the signs that a teenage child may be developing an addiction to ICT and acting accordingly is the best way to reverse a situation that has grown in recent years.

The 2019 annual report published by the Spanish Video Game Association (AEVI) shows very significant data. Among other information, it highlights that Spaniards spend an average of 6.7 hours per week playing video games. If we narrow the data down to the young population, we see that, for example, more than 40% of young people between 11 and 24 years old use smartphones or tablets to play video games.

Devices used for video games by age group

Source: AEVI Yearbook 2019

Causes of addiction to new technologies

There are several factors that can explain why an adolescent may become addicted to ICT. During adolescence, a person experiences a series of physical and psychological changes that make them more emotionally vulnerable. For this reason, adolescents may seek in new technologies the security they lack in themselves. What this reflects is low self-esteem because, through the internet and social networks, adolescents do not present themselves as they really are, but rather show an artificial image of themselves. New technologies offer the possibility of getting lost in a fantasy world to escape the day-to-day routine.

According to the National Plan on Addictions, around 21% of adolescents between 14 and 18 years old use new technologies compulsively. It should be borne in mind that young people are the most vulnerable to addiction to ICT, as the technological revolution fully affects all adolescents born in the virtual era. Another issue that explains the addiction some young people may develop to new technologies is their immediate environment. A lack of friends and loneliness can lead adolescents to seek refuge in ICT.

Symptoms of a possible addiction

To see which symptoms indicate that an adolescent is addicted to new technologies, we must start from the premise that the signs reflecting this are similar to those of any other addiction. In this regard, experts observe that young people increasingly need to spend more time using ICT to achieve the same level of satisfaction. This trend is reflected in a series of changes in social behaviour, which becomes increasingly restricted, and in changes in family relationships and school performance.

Adolescents end up becoming obsessed with being permanently connected. They do not turn off their mobile phone or computer at night, and they alter their daily activities to use their device more and more. Likewise, when they are not in contact with their mobile phone or computer, they experience mood swings or become irritable—something that only changes when they are connected again. For this reason, it is not uncommon for their sleep and eating patterns to be disrupted by their addiction and increased excitability.

Some of the symptoms that indicate a possible addiction are as follows:

The adolescent’s routine changes so that their interest in new technologies becomes the centre of their life. Everything else takes a back seat.
The young person ends up isolating themselves from their family. They withdraw into themselves to go online on the computer or play on the console in all the free time they have available.
As we saw earlier, their character is affected, becoming irritable and experiencing sudden mood swings. In addition, they show less interest in social relationships and appear absent and distant in group situations.
They experience anxiety if they cannot connect to the internet or use the console or computer, and they experience it as if it were a tragedy.
A drop in academic performance is common.

With regard to differences by sex, there are differences between boys and girls addicted to new technologies. Boys tend to be shy and have certain social difficulties. Girls, on the other hand, tend to have a character that is, a priori, sociable, but they have some difficulties communicating and make excessive use of social networks and other internet sites, mainly those related to eating disorders.

How to address adolescents’ addiction to ICT

Some of the measures parents can adopt to prevent cases of addiction in their children are as follows:

Educate young people in pedagogical values regarding the constructive use of the internet. In this regard, it is important to show them the importance of protecting their private life by avoiding posting personal photographs on social networks.
Place the computer in a common area of the house. A common mistake parents make is putting it in the child’s bedroom. This makes it more difficult to know what their children are doing on the internet.
Talk to the adolescent about the situation they are experiencing in order to help them see that something is not right.
Implement a schedule at first so that children can learn to use this tool in a more appropriate and balanced way. The most effective way to do this is by encouraging children with other types of activities so that their minds are focused on other interests.

The 2019 annual report published by AEVI also presents a series of good practices for responsible use of video games. Among the different tips we find, for example, respect for opponents or learning that, before playing, it is a priority to do schoolwork.