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It’s not yet classified as a true disorder, but psychologists say Internet addiction is real, and affecting teens across the country. A recent study suggests 11 percent of kids have the disorder.

Just ask any teen – and many will say they can’t live without the Internet.

“I’d say out of any given week it probably takes up more than half of my time,” says Adam Schindler, a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

But, counselors say, spending hours online with e-mail, instant messaging or chat rooms could be a warning sign that a teen is depressed.

“What’s being lost is a face-to-face encounter with somebody,” says psychotherapist Eddie Reece. “That’s where real intimacy happens, it doesn’t happen electronically.”

Often, teens admit, they use online friendships as a crutch.

“You can lie about who you are, says 19-year-old Brittany Waller. “You can be anyone you want to be on the Internet, whereas [when] you meet somebody in person they see what they get.”

Psychologists say warning signs that your teen is depressed include isolation, giving up activities they used to enjoy and irritability.

”You come in and you are just asking, ‘what do you want for dinner?’” says Reece, “and you get snapped at, because you have interrupted their virtual world.”

So what should parents do if their child is substituting a virtual world for the real one?

“What I like to talk to parents about, especially, is how about working on the relationship that you have with your children,” says Reece, “so that it would be more interesting to them to talk to you than it would be, to be on the computer.”

He says rather than setting limits on your child’s computer use, tell them why you’re concerned.

“And then you can bring up the conversation of, ‘you know I noticed you haven’t been playing with Billy very much lately, you know what happened there?’” says Reece, “And then listen.”

“You have to go outside and make that initial approach sometimes,” says 21-year-old Jessica Criss. “And sometimes it’s hard, but it ends up being more fun then getting no new messages for the day.”

Experts say parents who believe their children are on the Internet too much should also try to provide other options.

What We Need To Know

• Depression associated with Internet addiction comes not from the technology itself, but from the loss of other connections in a person’s life. Parents should be concerned only if kids are not spending time with friends. (Eddie Reece, M.S., L.P.C., Psychotherapist)




• Instead of forcing kids to get off the computer, try engaging them in conversation. Start by showing interest in what your child is doing online. Curiosity is an excellent healing approach. Once you have the child talking, you can suggest more fulfilling activities. (Eddie Reece, M.S., L.P.C., Psychotherapist)




• Improving the relationship you have with your child is an excellent way to break through their isolation. When children bond with their parents, they are learning skills they can transfer to other relationships in their life. (Eddie Reece, M.S., L.P.C., Psychotherapist)

Resources

• National Alliance on Mental Illness
• American Psychological Association
• American Psychiatric Association

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