Author: contributor

Over time, we become more reliant on technology because of the numerous benefits that it provides us with. Using some of the features of technology like the Internet has improved our quality of life in different ways.  

For instance, the internet has proved to be an effective tool for learning. It has also been a medium for people to connect over long distances and still keep in touch.

However, if the internet is not used the right way, there is a tendency for people to get addicted to the internet.

Children are susceptible to internet addiction because they are at the phase of their lives where they want to try and know everything. Therefore, parents need to be more intentional about their children’s internet use to prevent them from getting addicted.

In this post, you will learn some tips to keep your child from getting addicted to the internet.

Get to know them more

If you want to influence your child on internet use, the first step is to get closer to them. It might be difficult to assert some decisions when you are not really close to them.

You need to develop a close relationship with your child so that it will be easier to pass on some instructions that they can follow willingly.

Set limits on gadgets use

You should also watch out for the amount of time that your kids spend with their gadgets. Importantly, you can set a rule that allows them to use their gadgets more when they are on break or if it’s the weekend.  

However, if school is on, the use of their gadgets should be greatly restricted except if they want to use it for academic purposes.

Provide other healthier alternatives

Another way to ensure that your child does not get addicted to the internet is by providing some activities that will reduce the amount of time spent on the internet. You can suggest that they join a book club, a dance group, an art class, the gym, etc.

One of the challenges that parents, guardians, and caregivers struggle with these days is ensuring their kids don’t remain addicted to the internet.

People who barely have time for their kids are at high risk because they would not be able to monitor their children as the addiction and dependence worsen.

You can prevent your child from getting addicted if you can spot some of the common signs. Here are some warning signs to look out for.

• They prefer to spend time alone

If you allow children unfettered access to the internet, you will discover that they prefer to surf the online world alone instead of doing it under your supervision.

They are aware that you might place some restrictions under your watch. Hence, they will prefer to lock themselves up and browse the internet for several hours until they are worn out.

• They are less productive

When you notice that your child does not focus on productive tasks like completing their assignments, reading, etc, they are most likely addicted to the internet.

You will notice that their tests and examination results are nothing to write home about because they have not been studying as they should.

• They find it easier to bond with people online than physically

Children addicted to the internet cannot easily bond with people in reality. They can spend hours interacting with their virtual friends, but the case is different when it comes to people around them.

When you notice that your child hardly makes friends, but they talk about people they met online, they could be addicted to the internet.  

• Irritable or depressed when they are offline

Have you noticed how cranky your child gets when they are not online? This could be because they are addicted and they cannot stay away from the internet for a long time.

If you notice that your child’s regular activities are no longer what they used to be, then internet addiction might be at play. You need to create a routine for your child and monitor their internet activities so that it doesn’t affect them adversely.

Everywhere you go, you will find technology. There are several immense benefits and opportunities that the internet has brought out way. As a matter of fact, even our children have access to the internet when they want to do assignments, have fun and even play games.

However, the internet has some adverse benefits which affects everyone, and children are not excluded. One of the reasons why children need to be watched out for when it comes to too much internet time is because, they are still developing and it is often challenging for them to know what is right and what is wrong.

Below are the demerits of too much internet time on kids.

• Relationship and Social interaction problems: Kids who spend too much time on the internet are susceptible to having relationship problems with their family and friends. And they are likely to have issues when communicating with other groups of people.

The reason for this is, the internet has provided a virtual home for everyone, so kids can utilize this opportunity to relate with other people who they have not seen before. And spending much time communicating with them, affects real-life interactions.

• Health problems: Most parents are not aware that when their kids spend too much time on the internet, they are likely to gain more weight than usual. The reason is, during the time spent on the internet, they are usually in one position.

If this goes on longer than usual, they would not be able to effectively burn calories like their mates who exercise and spend less time on screen.

• Poor quality of sleep: Children who spend too much time on the internet find it difficult to sleep at night because most of them use the internet late into the night.

Hence, most of them find it difficult to be active the next morning particularly in school and this can adversely affect their academic performance.  

There are other negative effects of spending too much time on the internet like accessing dangerous content which is not healthy for them mentally. Parents are advised to monitor their children adequately and ensure they do not overuse their time on the internet.

Anything that has a negative side often has a positive perspective. Since the emergence of the internet, it has proved to be a source of help to many, and it has affected others adversely.

For your children, it is important they are aware of the truckload of benefits that the internet has for them.

In this guide, we will be highlighting the positive sides of the internet and how your kids can benefit from them

• Keeping in touch with your kids: If you happen to travel faraway, you can still keep in touch with your kids. Asides the fact that you will have to call them, you can do facetime or video calls with them where you can see their faces.

The internet allows you to keep in touch with your kids from any part of the world.

• Making friends: For kids who have problems associating, the internet helps to bridge that gap. These days, you can be close with a person on the internet and when you see them in real life, it becomes easier to maintain the friendship.

Your kids would find the internet quintessential in making friends with people all over the world. However, it is advised that parents properly guide their kids on how to spot the bad ones and stay away from them.

• Creativity: The internet affords kids the chance to be creative. There are several innovations happening in the world that they will be exposed to. And this helps them to channel their creativity to be a force for good.

In addition, when they see their peers doing creative things on the internet, they will be challenged to do the same.

• Learning: The internet is a great source of learning for everyone including kids. There are several educational platforms that kids can take advantage of to be ahead of their peers in class. The beauty about online learning is, it goes beyond the scope of the classroom, and kids would be exposed to several learning materials from around the world.

Asides the online classroom learning, kids have the chance to learn anything they want on the internet, most times for free.

Internet addiction is a condition that can be effectively treated. When the addiction has been confirmed, a counselor or a mental health therapist can assist the individual to take progressive steps in treating addiction.

One of the reasons why internet addiction is different from other forms of addiction is, we need some level of internet for the overall function in the society.

Basically, the goal in internet addiction is not to ensure total abstinence. It is to properly schedule the amount of time used on the internet.

If someone is addicted to pornography, the treatment measures might involve using the internet without having to involve pornography.

There are some methods that have proved effective over the years in the treatment of internet addiction.

They are: Family therapy, Self-treatment groups, Group therapy, Cognitive behavioral therapy and Self-help treatment.

In addition to this, other treatment options like Twelve-step programs and social skills are also proficient in treating internet addiction.

All these treatment options need the input of a counselor for the treatment process to go smoothly.

One of the basic reasons why a counselor is needed, is because he or she would need to carry out a proper evaluation of the individual’s addiction problem.

Typically, what forms the basis for an addiction treatment schedule is the assessment taken by a counselor.

This is why counselors usually take their time in evaluating the addiction problem of an individual, so that the therapist would form a treatment pattern.

The counselor would explain to the addicted individuals on the ills of internet addiction. He or she would also give them tips on how to properly manage their internet time, so that they do not relapse.

Overtime, the internet has proved to be a beneficial source of various forms of help, and people who reap its benefits, are those who use the internet judiciously.

Hence, when an individual notices he or she is addicted to the internet, or your loved one has internet addiction, it is best to reach out to a counselor for help.

There are various reasons for using the internet. However, if you look at it in a more detailed way, you will discover that there are two broad categories.

There is the category of people who spend time on the internet simply for fun. Some people in this category use this opportunity to escape some mental health problems like depression, anxiety and the likes.

A good number of times it works, other times it does not. In terms of fun, others in this first category use the internet as a means to ease themselves of stress.

The second category of people who use the internet, are those who use it for the purpose of seeking information.

Such people use the internet for lots of beneficial purposes, and this is reflected in their self-development.

Now, if you look closely at the above-mentioned categories, you will discover that, they comprise harmless acts.

However, when people do not effectively harness the potentials involved in both categories, the internet is used wrongly.

The right balance must be struck between using the internet for fun, and for information search. If you are using the internet for the purpose of seeking fun, it must be done judiciously.

Some people often make this mistake, as they spend countless hours on the internet for fun.

Before you know it, internet abuse sets in and internet addiction follows closely. People who are addicted to the internet would put aside other essential tasks just to have fun, and it affects their productivity in the process.

Also, asides the fact that people strictly use the internet for seeking knowledge, they should also try to use it for fun sometimes.

Most of the people who are at-risk on using the internet the wrong way are teenagers.

This is why parents and guardians have an important role to play in monitoring their children and wards when it comes to internet time.

There are some obvious signs that shows when the internet is being used in the wrong way, and they must be corrected before things go out of hand.

The internet provides much ease, and it has been highly beneficial to professionals across the world. It would interest you to know that, a good number of professionals have had better careers because of the internet.

For a smart professional, there are lots of valuable materials on the internet that can be accessed.

Using these materials is a surety that their careers would get better. Also, the internet has provided professionals the opportunity of meeting with other professionals from various parts of the world.

However, the sad part is some professionals have misused the benefits of the internet by spending too much time for unprofitable deeds.

There are some professionals who have found themselves lost in the virtual family created by the internet.

At this phase, it can be said that the quality of life alongside the productivity of the professional, has been affected.

One of the effects of too much internet time on professionals is decline in productivity.

They spend too much time on the internet for unimportant things, so they would have little time for self- and career development.

While their mates are researching the internet on how to get better as professionals, this is the opposite for professionals who do not properly manage their internet time.

Closely related to this, since professionals spend too much time on the internet, you can expect they will always sleep late.

This is disadvantageous because they need to wake early, and this affects their performance at work. You will see some of them sleeping on duty, instead of working.

This is part of the reasons why some of them get retrenched.

Also, professionals who spend too much internet time see it as an avenue to escape from the problems of life.

Typically, a professional is expected to see a mental health counselor on a periodic basis.

However, this set of professionals would prefer to spend their time on the internet, seeking solace and validation from people they do not know.

Since the inception of the internet, we have been treated to several advantages that we cannot seem to exhaust.

These days, it is easier for us to know certain things by being on the internet. Similarly, for students and professional individuals, the internet is a hub that increases your scope of knowledge.

If you have a phone or a PC, you have the internet at your fingertips.

Due to the fact that most people have untethered access to the web, they have misused this privilege. There are people who spend several hours on the internet without even realizing that they have wasted the whole day.

The unpleasant aspect about all this is, the time spent on the internet is usually in doing nothing important.

Internet addiction has the capacity to affect the quality of your life, so we need to exercise caution in the way we use the internet.

There are some disadvantages inherent in using too much internet time, and it is easily seen in someone who is addicted to the internet.

First off, people use too much internet time would find it difficult to cope when they do not have access to the internet.

It could get worse for those who are addicted to the internet because they would experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

Also, people who spend too much time on the internet usually see it as an escape route.

So, whenever they are faced with any life’s problem, they us the internet as a comfort place, where they can vent their problems, and find solace in the arms of a virtual family.

Furthermore, spending much time on the internet has an adverse effect on students.

There is a tendency for students to have poor grades because they spend much time surfing the web, instead of reading their books.

Insomnia is a typical symptom that students who use too much internet time, go through.

To wrap it up, people who use too much internet, would find it difficult to communicate effectively in reality. This is one of the reasons why there are weaker relationships, and communication becomes a struggle for most people.

These days, almost everyone has the opportunity to use the internet, and this include children.

For parents who are very observant, they will be able to tell when their child is getting addicted to the internet, and how to cut down on internet time at the right period.

There are lots of gains on the internet, but it is still important for an individual to know how to use the internet properly, especially children who might not really know the right thing to do.

These days, whenever kids are not occupied, they seize the opportunity to use the internet for a long period of time.

You will be surprised to find out that, a good number of them are on various social media platforms, so they spend lots of hours surfing these platforms.

They cannot be particularly blamed for this. The internet has created a virtual interesting atmosphere that makes you feel at ease.

Parents need to be aware of the signs of internet addiction in their kids and how to stop it. One of the major signs of internet addiction in kids, is not being observant of time as they remain online.

So, they can spend countless amount of time online, without realizing that much time has passed.

Due to this, it would be difficult for them to participate in profitable activities because they are on the internet.

They would barely have time to read their books or do their assignments. It gets even worse because, some of them would surf the web late into the night, and would need to wake up early for school.

In addition to this, kids who have a tendency to get addicted to the internet, would most likely not want to accept the fact that they are spending much time on the internet. So, if they are accused at any point, they would deny it vehemently.

Parents are advised to create a strict schedule for their children, which would include a list of all important activities, and a little time for using the internet.

Many people are addicted to the internet, and they are unaware of this. As a matter of fact, when you call them “internet addicted”, they would vehemently refuse.

One of their major excuses would be, they need to be online for their job, or they could claim that they are communicating with their loved ones.

Some of them would even go to the extent of saying they are reading online.

Due to the fact that, the internet is not a substance which alters the mind, a good number of people find it hard to come to terms with the fact that, they are addicted.

The hormone responsible for pleasure and motivation in the brain, is the dopamine. This is a very profound neurotransmitter which provides motivation to engage in experiences which are pleasurable.

Such experiences include spending ample time with your family and friends, going on a vacation, shopping and the likes.

For addicts, it is the dopamine rush which makes them to relapse, irrespective of the fact that, there could be dire consequences attached to their addiction.

It would interest you to know that, dopamine plays a very powerful role in internet addiction. How does this happen? Now, there are minute rewards which comes with using the internet.

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Such rewards are messages, interesting tales on the social media, money making opportunities and the likes. This happens every time you pick up your phone.

These rewards which come with the internet are responsible for the increase in dopamine production.

This in turn leads to a creation of a vicious cycle which motivates people to continue using the internet so that their dopamine production would be a continuum.

So, if you have found it difficult with your obsessive need to always be on the internet, and you find out that your entire day is unproductive, then you have developed an addiction.

If you also feel depressed when the internet is out of your reach for a period of time, then it also means you have an addiction. It is best for you to opt for programs which will aid you to conquer your compulsions.