What is Online Addiction?
Also called "Internet addiction disorder", put simply it is excessive Internet use that interferes with daily life.
This includes use of mobile phones - a significant issue in the 13-17 year-old age group.
Excessive use of the Internet has been found by various studies to disrupt individuals' time use and have a series of health consequences.
How much of a problem is it?
A study by Dr. Mubarak Ali of Flinders University in Adelaide on the impact that internet use has had on Australian teenagers found that one-third of the study participants were “in the process of becoming psychologically addicted”
Of those suffering from internet addiction, teens are (perhaps not surprisingly) the hardest hit.
The Australian Medical Journal published research showing that older Australian teenagers now spend more than six hours each day multi-tasking with a variety of media, from internet to instant messaging.
Teens spend an average of 2.7 hours per day on social media, compared with adults at 2.1 hours per day.
Teens connect to social media more than five times per day – 56% being heavy social media users, while 24% are perpetually connected.
What are the signs?
Most parents have concerns about the number of hours their children spend on mobiles/the internet.
Some of the signs that this use is turning into something more serious include:
- less interest in social activities like meeting friends or playing sport
- not doing so well at school
- tiredness, sleep disturbance, headaches or eye strain
- changes in eating patterns
- reduced personal hygiene
- obsession with particular websites or games
- anger when being asked to take a break from online activity
- appearing anxious or irritable when away from the computer
- becoming withdrawn from friends and family
What can I do about it?
This is where we step in.
Our solutions package goes a LONG way to solving this issue - click the image in this section for more information.
In addition, for parents, nothing beats talking to someone about it - and the best place to do that is at one of our Information Nights.
Not only will you be fully informed about the latest issues and risks, we will provide the solutions to this issue.
Talk to your school or your Parents and Friends Committee and ask them to give us a call.
Finally, there is, of course, also some very good information below.
Where can I get more information?
The Australian Government has set up the "Office of the eSafety Commissioner" which provides some excellent material in this area.
This includes tips and advice on helping your child have safe and enjoyable experiences online
