Spotlight on health | How to Spot Internet Addiction in Your Teen

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The internet is everywhere. According to the Pew Research Center, 96% of American teenagers use the Internet daily, and 46% of them report being online almost constantly. A sharp increase between 2014 and 2015, where only 24% of adolescents reported being online. Here’s how to detect internet addiction in your teenager.

Phones, laptops, tablets, computers, the Internet is at everyone’s fingertips.

Ninety-five percent of teens have access to a smartphone, the average teen spends seven hours and 22 minutes in front of screens every day, which poses some risks. So how can you detect addiction?

“We may not be physically active. We may not be getting enough sleep. We may not interact with people in person,” said Dr. Kate Eshleman, PsyD, a pediatric psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic.

And be sure to check out their academics. A recent study found that Internet-addicted adolescents disrupt signaling between brain regions that control attention and working memory. This can make it difficult for teens to concentrate on their homework.

“Just by the nature of being on screen and I think that could also see what we’re exposed to,” Eshleman said. “We know that social media has a huge impact on people’s moods.”

Moods like becoming agitated or angry when their time online is interrupted or limited. Staying up late or waking up in the middle of the night to continue online activities are also signs. This can lead to more sleep deprivation. The CDC says nearly 73% of high school students don’t get enough sleep.

So what can you do? Create technology-free zones, such as keeping appliances out of the kitchen. A survey by Pew Research found that 74% of teens feel happy when they don’t have their phones with them. Configure parental controls! Apps like bark.us and aura can help monitor and limit online access. Make sure your teen isn’t overloaded with the Internet.

Another way is to sit down and chat with them. When talking with your teen, educate them about the potential negative risks of Internet addiction and encourage them to do outside activities instead.

This story was created from a script that aired on WISH-TV. Spotlight on Health is presented by the Community Health Network.