Parents Concern On Teenagers Addiction To Internet

Many parents are concern of their teenagers children on the power of getting information from the Internet. The ability to exist in community online is easier now than ever.  Next year at this time, the opportunities will be even greater.  As the internet is used in schools as an educational tool, kids are becoming proficient and internet savvy at increasingly younger ages.  Many kids are well beyond their parent’s range of expertise by the time they hit middle school.  Our society is coming to rely on the internet as its primary source of information, and while it is good that our kids know how to access the information that they need, it can be difficult to monitor what else they are doing while online.

The plethora of things to do online is only growing exponentially.  From chat rooms to instant messaging to internet pornography, the possibilities of things that can occupy a teenager’s time are endless.  It has only gotten worse with the popularity of such sites as Youtube and Myspace.  Teens are spending countless hours viewing videos, chatting with friends and strangers, posting blogs, and many other things.  Many technologically uninformed parents choose to allow their adolescent unlimited sessions on the internet because they may not understand its detrimental qualities.  But there are several negative aspects that internet addiction can create for adolescents who are vulnerable and impressionable.

Many teenagers use the internet as a form of escape.  They can go into online chat rooms and vent their frustrations, talk about personal matters, and mingle with others.  Under the guise of anonymity, many feel it is easier to “be oneself” as they know they will never meet the person with whom they are chatting. But there are predators who know how to “charm” the impressionable teens.  It is not uncommon to hear of stories in which an online predator has either kidnapped or talked a teen into running away from home.  It is a problem that is becoming more prevalent with each passing day.

There are warning signs that an observant parent can pay attention to before the addiction gets too serious.  If your teen is either constantly talking about the internet or integrating his other daily activities with the internet, there is a strong possibility that the teen is addicted.  Many internet addicted teens also show a decline in their daily hygiene and appearance because they would rather spend that time doing something on the internet.   Besides, if they’re spending all that time on the internet, they figure they don’t have to smell good for anybody because nobody will come into contact with them.  They may also choose to sleep less – staying up late and waking up early – so they can spend even more time on the internet.  In some cases, the adolescent’s academic grades may drop, the time spent in their social activities decrease, and there is a decreased interest in any hobbies that do not involve the internet.

Many people view online communities as the next step in drawing the world closer together.  Just like airplanes and telephones have made the global community a smaller place, the internet ties all a little bit closer together.  My advice to parent is that the key to remember for parents is that the internet is not a fad.  It will not go away. Armed with this knowledge we need to be prepared to teach our kids the safe and proper ways to use this tool just like we would anything else.  It is not your job to keep your kids off of the internet.  It is your job to teach your kids how to live healthily in a world that has the internet in it.