| Many anxious parents see their teenage sons and | | | | front of the computer, if they experience loss of |
| daughters spend endless amount of hours in front of | | | | appetite, are excessively tired, constantly have read |
| the computer and wonder if they should get worried, | | | | eyes or neglect their school work or offline friends, |
| if their teen is developing an internet addiction. The | | | | then a confrontation might be in order. One way in |
| answer is: not necessarily. Some teenagers will not | | | | which a parent can confront his child is by asking the |
| get addicted to the internet no matter how many | | | | simple question "what are you looking for?" This |
| hours a day they spend surfing the web. | | | | question might sound simplistic but one of the main |
| An internet addict teenage boy reported feeling | | | | differences between internet users and internet |
| anxious whenever he went outside with his friends. | | | | addicts is that the latter DON'T look for anything, |
| Obsessive thoughts like "I must go online now" and "I | | | | most of the time. They are just online. There is no |
| must check my new messages" were constantly | | | | purpose. |
| bothering him. This is not uncommon, as many | | | | A new study also found that hyperactive teenagers |
| internet addicts are teenagers. These teenagers, | | | | or teens that are displaying hostility and social phobia |
| although spending many hours in social media sites like | | | | symptoms are more likely to develop internet |
| Facebook, are prone to feeling depressed and lonely. | | | | addiction. In this case, the internet might be the only |
| In fact, the internet usually helps teenagers escape | | | | social outlet the teen feels available to him, which |
| real life and not deal with it. | | | | could indicate a problem of a larger scale. |
| But how can you know when your teenager isn't | | | | If the teenager is unwilling to cut down his "internet |
| saying anything? There are some warning signs that | | | | time" or says he will and fails to do so, than seeking |
| shouldn't be taken lightly: If the teenager lies or | | | | professional treatment is the best course of action. |
| denies that he or she are spending a lot of time in | | | | |