Sergio is a child who spends too much time in front of the computer, and consequently his vision of the environment is marked by routine behavior and a language full of terminology related to computer science and social networks.
When his parents decide to take him to the doctor, he takes the opportunity to tell the doctor that he also suffers from muscular pains, caused (probably) by his postures in front of the computer. This is the story that tells the video you just saw, although my claim is rather reflect on the controversial Internet addiction. I have read in Internet Risks of Friendly Screens that in countries such as China, Taiwan and South Korea, this addiction is already accepted at the level of psychological diagnosis, and in the United States it is intended to include it in the new edition of the reference manual.
We already had the opportunity to interview Clara Marco in Peques y Más, who clarified that the symptoms of Internet addiction, they are similar to those that appear with drug addictions.
Apparently the longer one spends online, the more atrophied parts of the brain responsible for speech, memory, motor control, emotions ... In fact the attention span has decreased by 40% in the last 10 years
According to Mashable, Internet addictions, and especially social networks, are well documented. In the case of Facebook the addictive mechanism would work as follows: every time we receive and see a new notification we receive a dopamine kick, chemical neurotransmitter associated with motivation and reward. It is the novelty drug, which also acts when drugs are used or sexual intercourse.
The lack of training in the use of the Internet and Social Networks, as well as the lack of involvement in supervising the contents that children view and establishing limits, it can very easily lead to abusive use, and from there to addiction there is not much way (as in substance addictions).
It is not uncommon to meet boys and girls from 13 years that they spend three to eight hours sitting in front of the laptop, or with the smartphone in hand, chatting, uploading photos or giving the 'like'.
Symptoms of Internet addiction
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders:
Concern for the internet and online gaming: constantly think about what was done online or will be done later.
Symptoms of dependence (withdrawal syndrome) when there is no Internet.
Increase the tolerance threshold: having to spend more time to achieve the same satisfaction.
Loss of other interests.
Attempts failed to control usage.
Use of the internet to escape from sad moods, anxiety or restlessness.
I would not want to dramatize, but I need to tell you that children require us to teach them to use the Internet moderately, without interfering with their real life. After all (and as we see in Sergio's story) you feel much better when you can spend more hours playing with friends.
Video | Channel of Friendly Screens on You Tube Via | Internet risks More information | Friendly Screens In Peques and More | 'Facebook does not know how to hug': the story of a teenager who doubts true friendship, Our children and their social networks, A psychological study reveals that many children are addicted to technologies
