Screen Time to Lean Time
As documented by the Pew Research Center, “92 percent of teens report going on the internet daily, and 24 percent reported almost constantly.” However, that was only a pea within the whole soup of data collected about teenagers and the use of smartphones (or lack of use). The 92 percent of teens who go online daily were ones with smartphones exclusively. Teens who do not have a smartphone, whose only way of Internet is the computer, peaked at 68% of the group going online daily. But how could 24 percent of kids be dragged into the equation so suddenly from 68% of computer users to 92% of smartphone users? Well, as the famous Idiom states, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Throughout the past years, the Internet has spread so quickly that there simply was no where to go away from it. Social media and video games have created environments where addictions, or “losing yourself”, are quite easy.
Jason Zook, online entrepreneur and small business owner, practiced a 30-day social media detoxification. Within the very first days of being free and clean of social media, Zook already started to feel better both mentally and emotionally. During the fourth day, he had come to a realization: we post what we post to feel accepted and to get positive feedback more than anything else. Four days into the “detox”, Zook felt more liberated than he had been before. Then, eight days in, he started to write a book and read more as well. Not only would this day subsequently start a trend of happiness and motivation for him, but it would also begin a chain of productive days in the future. Fast-forward to the 21st day, where Zook found himself giving little to no thought about social media. On the 31st day, Zook concluded that social media is a distracter in many aspects, but in small amounts, useful. The way that people use social media, including the amount of time using it and what they use it for, is only half of the problem; the way we respond to them is the second half of the problem with social media addictions.
The importance of social media has grown to such an extent that the media may be intruding on the user’s life more than expected. Most people can use social media, the Internet, and video games recreationally to find the balance between daily routine and borderline-addiction. For those looking for support with such substances, Paradigm Malibu has a treatment center, therapists, and home programs to assist in “detoxifying” from screen addictions. The inpatient center last around 30-45 days, but can span further than that, and the therapeutic methods can vary as well. Paradigm’s goal is to help the general teenage and adolescent population that go through mental illness, substance abuse, disorders, and also ecompasses specific and broad problems, and to recuperate into regular lives and improve the further well-being of such. Addictions to drugs and worse substances are also covered through the resources of Paradigm such as the treatment center. However, the Internet has been used in many different ways; recognizing whether the problem with screen time is an addiction or overused “recreation” is as clear as mud. General help with screen time for teens and young adults are available, but to a cost. Because of the inclarity of addictions to screens, insurance companies cannot cover the health services compared to something like anxiety or depression.
The only catch to addictions and problems is the first step: realizing there is a problem. Eventually, there will be another step in which you need to recognize and treat the source of the problem noticed. In this case, Jason Zook demonstrated how much social media can detach someone from their own life, and without the distractions of others how productive and happier people can be. In the modern world, and especially for teens, leaving social media completely is a very difficult task. Finding a balance between the outside world with sunlight and the digital world with bluelight is even harder, however.
Work Cited
"Teen Depression Treatment | Teen Anxiety Treatment | Teen Drug Rehab | Paradigm
Malibu." Paradigm Malibu. Paradigm Malibu, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
"Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015." Pew Research Center Internet
Science Tech RSS. N.p., 08 Apr. 2015. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
Zook, Jason. "Do a Social Media Detox." Web log post. Jason Does Stuff. N.p., n.d.
Web. 01 Mar. 2016.