EFFECTS OF INTERNET ADDICTION.

92% of teens report going online daily, including 24% who say they go online “almost constantly”(Lenhart). Today having internet access is common and easy to get. This easy access can lead to internet addiction, especially for teenagers. 50% of teens actually admitted that they feel addicted (and it is not the real number)(Joyce). This addiction affects teenagers in their social life, their faculties to stay focused, and their capacity to sleep well.

SOCIAL LIFE EFFECT

New technologies allow and promote a link between people with communication that is fun, faster and easier. They also make it possible to better organize, to work better together. Finally, they allow easier access to information. However, misused social networks can represent a real danger in families, whose major risk of addiction in adolescents or still, among them, is the illusory side of the feeling of being connected and of have friends.

“Digital devices have transformed people’s lives. They are changing everything from parent-child relationships to human interaction, to our ability to focus on the task at hand,” said James Steyer (Joyce).

Family relationships are influenced because family time is invaded by digital devices that hinder communication and interaction. Some teens also neglect their friends in real life or a romantic or sentimental relationship, which eventually fall apart. People meet on the internet or they have friends who only know their screens and leave real life behind.

THE ABILITY TO STAY FOCUSED

Many people spend too much time on digital platforms, so their school results are low or cannot keep a job. It is difficult today to stay focused on duty when a notification appears; this pushes us to multitask. But when you are interrupted, the processing of information decreases and you take twice as long to return to work. This affects the quality of the work done when you use your mobile phone.

CAPACITY TO SLEEP WELL

The blue light emitted by the LED screens of computers, TVs, tablets, or active phones activates a hundred times more non-visual photosensitive retinal receptors than the white light of a fluorescent lamp. It thus generates the message of a massive exposure to light directly transmitted to suprachiasmatic nuclei. If one exposes oneself at night in the light, and in particular to a light enriched in blue, it causes a delay of the clock, a delay in falling asleep and generally a debt of sleep.LED screens and their blue light have harmful effects and cause retinal damage, eye fatigue, tingling in the eyes, headaches. Also, this habit generates a real vicious circle where the nights of bad quality. It is true, that lack of sleep makes people more distracted, which causes them to surf the internet at bedtime, increasing their addiction to social networks.

Our world is changing, and with the emergence of social networks and growing popularity, new behaviours are emerging in our society, as well as at the individual level. In the purely clinical field, we are talking about a new category of addictions, among which we find the addiction to social networks, the virtual sex or the internet, more generally. Technology is a gift and we should learn to use it responsibly and conscientiously.

Joyce, Amy. “Teens say they’re addicted to technology. Here’s how parents can help”. www.thewashingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. May 3, 2016. March 11, 2019.

Lenhart, Amanda. “Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015”. www.pewinternet.org. Pew Research Center. Apr. 9, 2015. Web. Feb. 28, 2019.

Mazzola, Jessica. “Nighttime texting linked to bad grades, NJ study finds”. www.nj.com. NJ.com. Oct. 8, 2015. Web. Feb. 28, 2019.