More and more youngsters are threatening internet addiction

Mobile phone instead of tobacco: addictiveness through internet use
In Germany, more and more people are affected by online addiction. Especially children and adolescents are at risk. At a congress in Berlin, hundreds of experts are engaged in addiction therapy, prevention and research.

And always the smartphone lures
Chatting with friends, surfing the Internet, playing games, shopping or even looking for a partner for life: For many people, the smartphone from everyday life has long since become indispensable. Although the devices make life easier for us in many areas, they also pose health risks. For example, myopia increases as a result of constant use of smartphones. And they can really make you dependent: Especially among young people, the risk of cell phone addiction is great.

Internet addiction is affecting more and more people. Especially many teenagers can barely put their smartphone out of their hands. In Berlin, hundreds of experts advise on the subject at the addiction congress. (Image: Focus Pocus LTD / fotolia.com)

Hundreds of experts at the German Addiction Congress
According to experts, parents still rarely perceive sprawling Internet usage of adolescents as a problem. Professor Falk Kiefer of the German Society for Addiction Research and Addiction Therapy said in a message from the news agency dpa: "You have to strengthen the awareness that online games and social networks can have a high binding force. Young people come into contact with a potentially addictive behavior earlier. "

Kiefer leads the German Addiction Congress in Berlin, where 600 search experts come together. Internet addiction is one of the priorities this year. Even with illegal drugs would be observed negative trend. Smoking, on the other hand, is less of a problem for young people today. In Germany, around 20 million people are addicted - to alcohol, tobacco, gambling, drugs or even the Internet.

Not officially recognized as a disease
According to a study conducted in 2011 on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health, more than 560,000 people in Germany are considered internet-dependent. Fourteen percent of the 14 to 16-year-olds are affected, girls slightly more often than boys. A rising trend is assumed.

Although Internet addiction has not yet been officially recognized by the payers as a disease, experts and the Federal Drug Commissioner Marlene Mortler (CSU) consider the demand for a diagnosis justified. In an earlier communication, she stated that the Federal Government is seeking new forms of addiction, such as Computer game and internet dependence in view. "I want to provide more information and help those affected with exactly the right help," says Mortler.

Criteria for Internet addiction
Kiefer explained loud dpa: "the earlier Internet-based games and media are available for young people and already move into the nursery, the more is to be expected that the numbers continue to increase." For parents there is great uncertainty, because there are no standards for Internet use.

The question of where the Internet is the border between normal use and addiction, is often not so easy to answer. Basically, the criteria for Internet addiction are similar to those of alcohol or drug addiction. But not the time in front of the screen is crucial.

When teens relax at school
Researchers from the US have found in a study that Facebook or Twitter can make similar dependent as cocaine. According to experts, addicts have strong negative consequences of playing online or browsing through social networks, which they accept or ignore as if they're gagged.

For example, they go to school, retire from family and friends, and lose control, Kiefer explained. "It usually does not work to turn off the computer after an hour."

Those affected often seek help only late
According to the physician, unlike alcohol, there were no such effects as drunkenness, which drew the attention of the environment to the problem. As a result, adolescents and their parents often arrive late at counseling centers. Kiefer has the hope that more affected people seek help early: "You can at times have a problematic behavior, but it does not have to run into an addiction. It is crucial to talk to those affected early and negotiate boundaries. "

If teenagers realized that they could not keep up their own intentions, such as a certain amount of time per day, that was one way of getting into conversation. It is crucial that the behavioral change is not prescribed, but is comprehensible and connected with positive consequences. (Ad)