Internet Addiction Can Be Detrimental To Teens, Impacting Adolescents’ Brain Network And Function Similarly To Gambling Or Drug Addiction
For the last ten or more years, people have been debating the pros and cons of having a tool as powerful as the internet at our disposal.
The internet can be a beautiful and powerful thing, as it saves us time obtaining important information and connects us to loved ones like friends and family from far away. Instead of writing letters back and forth or solely relying on telephones, we can see their faces and chat with them for as long as we’d like.
But, there are just as many cons about the internet as there are pros. When people put their personal information online, they become vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Then, there’s also the fact that the internet can be addicting.
Substances aren’t the only thing that can be addicting to humans – the internet can be as well.
Millions of people around the world not only have daily access to the internet but consider themselves addicted to it, as scrolling through certain social media sites and other websites is a crucial part of their daily routines.
For instance, if you are on the internet for several hours during the day for reasons other than work and become irritable or anxious when you can’t access it, you may be dealing with internet addiction.
Internet addiction isn’t good for anyone at any age, but it’s especially dangerous for younger people like teenagers and their vulnerable, developing minds.
A recent study published in the scientific journal PLOS Mental Health provided insight into just how internet addiction can impact several parts of an adolescent’s brain network and how their mind functions.
For years, we’ve known that a person’s brain develops and changes significantly during their adolescent years, as teenagers experience many social and biological changes. So, it’s no wonder scientists have been curious about how internet addiction impacts the networks and functions of a young person’s delicate brain.
Jacob Lund – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual people
The study, written by UK-based scientists Max L. Y. Chang and Irene O. Lee, investigated neurological changes associated with internet addiction and compared data from several different studies involving adolescents ranging in age from 10 to 19.
The study results showed that internet addiction in teens has similar effects on their brains as other types of addiction, like behavioral and substance addictions.
Internet addiction showed increased connectivity in their brains’ reward network and a decrease in functional connectivity in their executive control network.
Therefore, being addicted to the internet has the potential to impact a young person’s brain in the same way a gambling or drug addiction can, which is pretty scary to think about in the long run.
Does this mean every single parent should panic and completely cut their child off the internet? Not really.
However, many experts and health professionals recommend doing your best to limit your child’s screen time and see if you can get them to find a balance between internet usage and screen-free activities.
There is still a lot of research to be done regarding the internet’s impact on our cognitive function, but studies like this one have us on our way.
You can read the study here.
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