Related Health issues
Nearly 95% of youth between ages 13 to 17 use smartphones. 45% of teenagers have been found to have an almost consistent internet use. Today’s adolescents spend more time on the internet than they do in personal interactions. These activities have an impact on their mental health (Rodriguez, 2019). Some of the biggest health impacts of technology among school-age youth are depression, anxiety, and fear (Hoge et al., 2017).
It has been found that media content produces fear and anxiety among the youth. They may see attractive and successful people on social media who lead ideal lives. The result is always a social comparison, and they end up feeling dissatisfied with themselves. Researchers have even discovered that negative self-evaluation can contribute to depression. At times, adolescents may use technology as a way of distracting themselves from stressful situations or anxiety. This results in behavioral avoidance of emotions. It is important for adolescents to have emotional regulation so that they can be able to deal with strong emotions. Emotional regulation helps individuals cope with various psychopathological disorders such as depression and anxiety (Hoge et al., 2017).
Social anxiety disorder is characterized by the fear of humiliation or embarrassment, which causes the individual to avoid social situations. It affects the functioning of both the social and occupational aspects of the individual. They are most likely to get involved in substance abuse and eventually commit suicide. Anxiety may also stem from the worry of not being adequately connected with the rest of the world. Social technology – e-mailing, messaging, and texting – has become a key mode of communication for most young adults. An interruption of the use of such technologies can cause them to develop anxiety. Research shows that high amounts of texting are associated with anxiety and depression. Feeling dependent on text messaging is also associated with increased levels of depression. Such individuals often feel the need to be connected through the internet, and so they often feel anxious when this connection cannot be established or is intermittent (Hoge et al., 2017).
There has been a significant degree of overlap between those who engage in offline bullying (meaning physical or person-to-person bullying) and those that engage in cyberbullying. Generally, adolescents and young adults who are victims of cyberbullying have higher chances of developing mental health as well as physical health issues. Most of them report having negative feelings such as worry, embarrassment, fear, loneliness, or depression after episodes of cyberbullying. These victims are also more prone to having suicidal thoughts and may develop self-injurious habits (Hoge et al., 2017).
The internet acts as a ready source of information, such as conversations and stories of suicides. Those who feel vulnerable, especially victims of cyberbullying, are most likely to get specific details on how to commit suicide. This is made possible by forums or group discussions that involve suicidal people or those that inflict pain on themselves. Such conversations ignite these negative thoughts (Hoge et al., 2017). Generally, fear, anxiety, and depression are some of the biggest health issues among school-age youth that are caused by the use of technology.
One of the most helpful ways that can be used to reduce the impact of technology on teens or school-age youth is through parents. Parents are the ones who know their children more and spend the most time around compared to other people in society such as teachers. This means that parents can be able to engage with their children’s online world. They can achieve this by asking to see how the teens and young youths use online platforms such as social media. Parents should not take the approach of a supervisor but rather as a friend who wants to know more about the internet. This will allow them to keep track of what they post and what kinds of reactions they receive. By the end of the day, teens and young youth will be able to open up about instances of cyberbullying or feelings of low self-esteem. They will receive some degree of reaffirmation and will thus not have to deal with depression, anxiety and stress by themselves (Grové, 2019).