Is your child addicted to the mobile phone?

Many parents wonder if their children are addicted to mobile phones. They see how they spend many hours in front of the screens, although they try to put limits on them, they do not always succeed. Parents want their children not to end up having an excessive use of new technologies to avoid creating problems in this way.

But in reality, parents do have reasons to be concerned. Many children reach adolescence addicted to mobile phones and check them at least every hour. They feel pressured to reply to messages and notifications. And if they are not always online, it is like they do not feel integrated.

TEENS USE CELL PHONES A LOT

Teenagers use messaging applications to keep in constant contact with their friends, to make plans … and this does not have to be negative if it is managed correctly. They also look for information on the Internet, watch tutorials on YouTube or use Facebook to connect with other people.

Ideally, parents should know which applications are most commonly used by their children. Parents trying to control their children’s mobile phone use may have a difficult time distinguishing abusive behavior from appropriate use, especially since teens use their devices for both school work and leisure time, often simultaneously.

When adolescents use the mobile phone in an abusive way, it may be for fear of missing something and that later at school they are not aware of the things that have happened on a virtual level. Currently there is no official medical recognition of “smartphone addiction” as a disease or disorder, the term refers to obsessive behaviors that alter the course of daily activities in a way that reflects patterns similar to substance abuse.

DOES THE MOOD OF YOUR TEENAGERS CHANGE?

Does your teen’s mood suddenly change and he becomes intensely anxious, irritable, angry, or even violent when the phone is taken away from him or is not available for use? Does your teen skip or miss social events due to time spent talking on the phone? If you answer yes to both questions, they are clear signs that your child is having a mobile phone addiction and overcoming it should be valued.

Another red flag is spending so much time using a mobile phone that it affects personal hygiene and normal daily activities (especially sleeping). Lying, hiding and breaking family rules to spend more time using the mobile phone can be a cause for alarm to take into account when seeking help from a professional addiction therapist.

Teens can have a hard time regulating themselves without parental guidance. It is necessary to create free environments for the Internet and mobile phones at home as part of the necessary daily routine.

ARE YOU GOING TO BUY A MOBILE PHONE FOR YOUR SON?

If you are thinking of buying a phone for your child, it is necessary that you first establish good habits with the use of it and that dependence on these terminals is avoided. Never buy a new mobile for your teenager as their first terminal, the ideal is that they inherit the old phones from their parents, which may even be obsolete. But before that, a father or mother will have to be aware that they are not people addicted to mobile phones, because then they would not have one problem at home, they would have two.

To learn how to use a mobile phone, children and adolescents will need the guidance and guidance of their parents. Parents should help their children to have good habits to use the terminals.