Problematic Technology Use

Question: I recently heard about social media addiction, what is that? Do I need to worry about that for my 13-year-old who just started using Snapchat? Is this different than video game addiction? 

Answer: To best address this question, it might be helpful to first talk about what we mean by “problematic technology use”. One way to think about this term is using technology in ways that may have social and physical impacts; for example, prioritizing technology use so much that an adolescent doesn’t interact with friends or family offline, or being on their phone so late into the evening that a teen falls asleep in class.  

While “addiction” terminology may frequently be used to describe problematic technology use and often dominates the headlines around social media, recent studies have actually shown that it’s not an accurate way to describe teens’ experiences with social media. Research finds instead that when young people experience problematic use of social media, it’s more of a broad range of challenges they experience; addictive behaviors are only at the extreme end of that spectrum.   

It's also important to recognize that it’s not something wrong with the teen using the platform causing them to feel this way; many interactive technologies are specifically designed to capture and hold a user’s interest. It can be hard for children and teens to overcome those design features. Using language of ‘addiction’ can make it sound like the problem is with the child user, whereas for many children, with support they can learn strategies to overcome that tech design. Having open communication with your child about how they feel and how easy (or challenging) it is to log off can help parents identify ways to provide that support and learning. Our previous response also offers ways to help prevent problematic technology use. 

Another myth is that problematic technology use is all about the amount of time spent using technology, or screen time. One teen may use technology one hour a day and it is clearly problematic, and another child may use technology 2.5 hours a day and they are learning and thriving. In general, the amount of screen time itself is not an adequate way to represent problematic technology use. 

The good news is even if your teen uses different modes of technology like gaming or social media platforms, the ways to help them cope are really similar.  

How to Identify Potentially Problematic Technology Use 

• Look for changes in behavior: physically, emotionally, socially and functionally. Such as: 
  • avoiding offline social connect to be online,  
  • lower grades due to overuse of technology, or  
  • being emotionally withdrawn due to negative social experiences on technology.  
• Seek the advice of your child’s pediatrician regarding any concerns you might have. 
• Consider looking at a validated screening tool for problematic internet use, the Problematic and Risky Internet Use Screening scale (PRIUSS) is used in many physician’s offices and you can use it at home.  
  • One strength of this scale is that you can see the areas in which your child is struggling and tailor solutions that focus specifically on those issue areas.  

For more information on preventing problematic technology use, please see our previous response. 

Age: 10-17, early adolescence, middle adolescence 

Topics: Problematic technology use, screening, adolescents 

Role: Parent/Caregiver