Addiction? Understand the degrees of dependence on social networks – 05/27/2023 – Daily life

The excessive use of social networks, especially among young people under 18 years of age, worries doctors and entities that fight so-called technological addiction. Experts warn, however, that it is not just the use of platforms for long hours that defines addiction, but the lack of control and dominance over other actions.

“I’m a doctor and I use WhatsApp all day long to answer patients. Does that mean I’m dependent because I’m using too much? No, because it’s something that’s part of my profession”, says Rodrigo Menezes Machado, collaborator psychiatrist at the Ambulatório de Impulse Disorders at the Institute of Psychiatry at USP (University of São Paulo).

Machado admits that it is impossible to deny technology, but the issue of dependence is related to loss of control. “It’s that feeling of ‘wow, I took my phone and I was just going to look at something very specific on Instagram. I spent more than three hours.”

Allied to the lack of control are losses in other spheres of life, that is, academic, social and family. For example, the person who prefers to stay on social networks rather than go out with friends, reduces social ties, academic performance drops, work ceases to have the income it had before and affects sleep.

Katia Ethiénne dos Santos, a professor at PUC Paraná, has a postdoctoral degree in the area of ​​digital education and says that the concept called “onlife” has existed since 2015. It consists of the border between the physical and virtual universes, so that we no longer have the perception of what is one and what is the other. “Within this hyper-connected context, it is difficult for us to stay away, maintain balance. It is fundamental that the same care that we take with other technologies, as with television, also exists for social networks, especially when we are parents or guardians of children and young people,” he says.

Thinking about addiction, the Geat (Group of Studies on Technological Addictions) created a data repository where the results of research on technology addiction are compiled.

The idea is for the platform to be used by parents, guardians, educators and health professionals to guide young people about digital security, how to identify addictive behavior patterns, which types of access are at greater risk and what to do.

The WHO (World Health Organization) already classifies the “gaming disorder” (disorders of electronic games) as a mental condition with specific classification in the list of illnesses of medical importance (called CID).

Some symptoms of the disorder are the total control of the game in life, as a priority even over other activities, such as sleeping, eating and practicing hygiene. The behavior of continuous gambling overlaps with all other practices, even when there is a risk of negative consequences for the individual.

The Delete Institute, a research group linked to UFRJ that offers treatment for excessive technology consumption. Every Friday, Delete offers free service open to the public at the Institute of Psychiatry and has a test related to screen addiction on the site.

The institute divides the levels of use in social networks into three levels, understand what each one is:

Conscious Users

The conscious user, which is when the virtual does not interfere with the real. Eduardo Guedes, coordinator of the Delete Institute, says that it is common for people to think that they have developed dependence on screens because they use them for many hours. However, that’s not quite it.

“People who have a commitment or dependence use a lot, but not everyone who uses a lot has a dependence. The conscious user can use a lot, but the virtual does not interfere with the real.”

abusive user

In this case, the virtual interferes with the user’s reality, but there is a level of control. Guedes exemplifies situations in which the person you are at a meal table, but cannot take his eyes off the cell phone or still uses the device while driving. “There is control, but there is commitment,” he explains.

In this case, the institute suggests guidelines, such as conversation circles and continuing education for parents.

dependent user

In this case, the virtual gets in the way of the real and there is a level of loss of control, that is, where there is a problem with dependence on the screen. Guedes also explains that screen addiction is always associated with a primary disorder that can be anxiety, depression, panic.

For this portion of patients, the institute treats the primary disorder and also does work related to the technology desensitization process. “We don’t preach abstinence, but we advise people on conscious use. Unlike alcohol, which is a visible drug, screen dependence is an almost invisible dependence.”

In the case of the dependent, there are levels also categorized by the Delete Institute. Are they:

excitement and security

• At this stage, technology became the only source of pleasure and security for the user. For example, when video games become the only pleasure and are replaced by all real life activities and start to become a problem. Or even when the teenager follows the number of likes on a post on social networks and that is the only means of happiness.

Relevance

• This category is related to how relevant technology is in a person’s life. For example: the person wakes up, connects, goes to the bathroom and takes the cell phone.

Tolerance:

• This step is linked to the user who cannot tolerate life without technology. The Delete Institute, for example, has already received reports of children who do not go to their grandparents’ house because there is no Wi-Fi in the property.

Abstinence:

• When the user, when not connected, starts to feel irritability, anguish, bad mood, altered perception of time. Eduardo Guedes state that there are patients who reach the point of neglecting their own health and hygiene. For example, teenagers who wake up, log on, stay in their pajamas, don’t shower, don’t brush their teeth, and eat next to the computer.

Conflicts:

• Here, it is related to direct and indirect conflicts in real life due to the use of technology, for example, father who fights with his son or even loss of income in study and work.

---

How to prevent social media use from becoming an addiction

• Restrict use in children under 7 years of age to a few hours

• Control the content accessed, mainly by young people between 7 and 12 years old

• Spend more time together, practicing activities that stimulate the physical and also the creativity of children, such as games and games

• Having a support network that helps to listen and talk to the child about values

• At the slightest sign of behavior change, such as lack of sleep and appetite, talk to her to understand if she is suffering from addiction to social networks and cell phones

• Talk, especially with younger people, about what should or should not be shared on social media