Question

1. Describe the contemporary issue and explain what external stressors are associated with this issue.
2. Outline assessment strategies to screen for this issue and external stressors during an assessment for an adolescent patient. Describe what additional assessment questions you would need to ask and define the ethical parameters regarding what you can and cannot share with the parent or guardian.
3. Discuss support options for adolescents encountering external stressors. Include specific support options for the contemporary issue you presented.

Answer 1

Adolescent social networking sites (SNS) and internet games addiction is a widely-discussed contemporary issue caused because of several external stressors. Adolescents surf the internet for various purposes like games, social media, study materials, videos etc. Among these social media was found to be the most addictive one among adolescents and games occupy the second position. In fact, many adolescents were found to be less attentive in classes as they were preoccupied with social media apps and games. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok etc., are there to engage adolescents who are interested in social networking. Many adolescents were even addicted to suicide games like 'Blue whale,' and committed suicide before it was banned in several countries.

Many studies have confirmed that this issue is often associated with several external stressors of adolescent years like peer pressure, the influence of the society, over-expectation of parents, fear of missing out, family dynamics, school grades and activities, career and future, grief and loss etc. Peer pressure has been a major factor for adolescents to become addicted to anything. Under the influence of peers, adolescents often become addicted to many vices, which were found to be difficult to get rid of no matter how hard they try. When classmates or other acquaintances do something, children are naturally attracted to it. In this era of internet, when adolescents find new friends and even get to know their neighbors through SNS, they often get glued to their chairs till they have equal or more number of friends as their peers. They will get invited to the games by their friends or members of the society. Once they start playing, it becomes a trap. Over-expectation of parents puts too much pressure on adolescents and they become overly stressed. Many of them get addicted to something as a relief from this constant stress. Family dynamics is also cited as a reason for adolescent addiction. When parents are less supportive, children tend to become addicted. Many of them get addicted because of too much competition in studies and career. Loss and grief also often result in adolescent addiction. Social media overuse and gaming disorder can be assessed and screened using Internet Process Addiction Test (IPAT), Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS), Game Addiction Scale (GAS), Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Problematic Internet Use Scale (PIUS), etc.