Addiction is an extremely cunning mental illness and it’s one that makes a person believe they don’t have a problem. One of the reasons people don’t get the help they need is because they believe addiction is only to drugs or alcohol. The reality is that people have addictions to gambling, shopping, eating, and different forms of technology. There’s a chance that your teen is struggling with a social media addiction and you don’t even realize what’s happening.

What is a Social Media Addiction?Seek Help For Social Media Addiction

The world is changing at a faster pace than ever before, and people are able to stay connected better than ever before. Through various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and more, you have access to people around the world. In fact, this is an incredible technological advance, but these social media platforms can keep you on them as long as possible. Social media companies are some of the most profitable in the world because they make money by keeping people on the platform.

Social media companies understand human behavior better than most people, so they know how to keep people online. On each of the platforms, there are various aspects that include likes, follows, shares, and retweets. Neurobiological studies show that notifications from social media apps stimulate dopamine. Specifically, dopamine is the neurotransmitter responsible for pleasure, and it’s what can make a person develop a social media addiction.

What are the Signs of a Social Media Addiction?

People can develop an electronic addiction because they’re looking for a way to cope with other issues they’re having. If someone is sad, lonely or lacking self-confidence, the likes and follows on social media can make him or her feel better. Moreover, there are also young people who don’t know how to deal with everyday life, so they turn to social media for an escape. Eventually, the use of social media begins to cause a variety of different problems in the person’s life.

For example, some of the signs of this form of addiction can include:

  • Having difficulty in school
  • Spending excessive time on electronics
  • Feelings of anxiety when not on social media
  • Withdrawing from social situations
  • Depression

For some teens, having difficulties with friends and family can make social media even more appealing. On social media, they can be who they want to be, say what they want to say, and justify their behaviors because it makes them feel better. However, without the proper treatment, your teens life can begin to become even more unmanageable with social media addiction. Therefore, behaviour assessments at a mental health treatment center for teens is so crucial.

Getting Help for Social Media Addiction

If your son or daughter is struggling with an addiction to social media, allow Venture Academy to help. We specialize in helping young people who struggle with this form of addiction, as well as various other mental health issues. The first step in our process is to do a complete assessment and see what areas of your child’s life are being affected. From here, we can create an individual treatment plan to help him or her begin to recover.

Here at Venture Academy, we help families begin to heal and regain hope for the future. Additionally, teens are in a great place to begin to recover because social media addiction is progressive, so it’s easier to treat in earlier stages. For example, some of the other programs we offer here include:

To learn more about Venture Academy and social media addiction, call us today at 866.762.2211.