Being a Cyber Savvy Kid

Teach children to be cyber savvy by explaining the following:

•All media is permanent (photos, videos, messages, posts, etc.)!

•All your online information is available to the public.

•If you don’t want people to know something about your life then don’t do it online!

•Even though you may feel invisible when online, everything you do is visible – it’s like living in a glass house.

*Talking with your parents is the key to online safety

•Don’t hide your feelings about what happens online.

•When you are confused, always ask questions!

•Stay away from “adults only” areas of the Internet!

•Tell your parents about anything that makes you feel uncomfortable!

•Most harm that is done to children online can be prevented by talking to a trusted adult.

Policy statement: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

The AAP is finally getting on board with the crucial need to integrate a media consumption assessment for all children at every well-child visit! Pediatricians are encouraged to take media history and ask two media questions at every well-child visit: 1) How much recreational screen time does your child or teenager consume daily? 2) Is there a television set or Internet-connected device in the child's bedroom? Parents are now encouraged to establish a family home use for all media. The policy statement also includes the following; "Media influences on children and teenagers should be recognized by schools, policymakers, product advertisers, and entertainment producers." This marks the first time that the AAP has fully acknowledged that media, including cell phones, iPads, and social media, are a dominant force in children's lives.The AAP states that is concerned by evidence about potential harmful effects of media messages and images. Finally some movement in the right direction!

Online Child Pornography Offenders are Different

Online Child Pornography Offenders are Different: A Meta-analysis of the Characteristics of Online and Offline Sex Offenders Against Children.

Babchishin KM1, Hanson RK, Vanzuylen H.

Author information

Abstract

The current meta-analysis compared the characteristics of online child pornography-only offenders, typical (offline) sex offenders against children, and offenders with both child pornography and contact sex offences against children (mixed). Based on 30 unique samples (comparison ns ranging from 98 to 2,702), the meta-analysis found key differences between groups. Offenders who committed contact sex offences were more likely to have access to children than those with only child pornography offences. In contrast, offenders who used the internet to commit sexual offences had greater access to the internet than those with contact sex offenders. Differences between the groups, however, were not limited to differential opportunities. Sex offenders against children and mixed offenders were found to score higher on indicators of antisociality than online child pornography offenders (CPOs). CPOs were also more likely to have psychological barriers to sexual offending than sex offenders against children and mixed offenders (e.g., greater victim empathy). Mixed offenders were found to be the most pedophilic, even more than CPOs. The findings suggest that offenders who restricted their offending behavior to online child pornography offences were different from mixed offenders and offline sex offenders against children, and that mixed offenders were a particularly high risk group.

PMID:

 

24627189

 

[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

The Dopamine Hook: Why the Net and Gaming Are Addictive

The word addiction is derived from a Latin term for "enslaved by" or "bound to." Anyone who has struggled to overcome an addiction -- or has attempted to help someone else to do so -- certainly understands what these terms really mean.

Addiction, unfortunately exerts a long and powerful influence on the brain that manifests in three ways: craving for the object of addiction, loss of control over its use, and continuing engagement with it despsite significant negative consequences.

For decades, medical experts believed that only alcohol and certain drugs could cause addiction. Neuroimaging technologies and more recent research, however, have clearly shown that certain pleasurable activities or behavioral processes, such as gambling, shopping, and sex, can also co-opt the brain.

The brain registers all pleasures in the same way, whether they originate with a drug, a monetary reward, a sexual encounter, or even a satisfying meal. In the brain, pleasure has a distinct neurochemical signature: the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the nucleus accubens, a cluster of nerve cells lying underneath the cerebral cortex.

Dopamine release in this nucleus is so consistently tied with pleasure that neuroscientists refer to this region as the brain's pleasure center. All drugs associated with abuse, from nicotine to heroin, cause a particularly powerful surge of dopamine. The likelihood that the use of the drug or participation in a rewarding activity will lead to addiction is directly linked to the speed with which it promotes dopamine release, the intensity of that release, and the reliability of that release.

As it turns out, interaction with the Internet and video gaming quickly stimulates the pleasure center in the brain, causing a release of dopamine that is both intense and reliable. This new information helps us understand why the Internet and gaming are so difficult to control and why children, teens, and adults experience intense cravings, tolerance, and ongoing engagement despite negative consequences.

Once the dopamine hook is in place it is extraordinarily difficult to modify behavior and it is crucially important that the person who is experiencing addiction to the Internet or video gaming go through a sustained period of being unplugged or detoxing. Without a sustained break from the dopamine surges there is no way to learn new behaviors that can produce pleasure. In my next blog. I will discuss how it is possible to retrain the pleasure center in the brain to release dopamine when it is stimulated by healthy, life-affirming, off-line activities.

Teen Internet Addiction

I was invited to speak on teen internet addiction by The Asian and Pacific Islander Children, Youth and Family Council in Chinatown. My presentation focused comparing and contrasting the terms "process addiction" and "substance addiction." My discussion described the neurobiology of process addictions in teens and then highlighted at risk populations:" ADHD, Autism, Depression, and Social Anxiety Disorder. If you would like a copy of my power point, please email me at cyberrecovery@gmail.com. I will also post a copy of my power point on my website: www.teenvideogameaddiction.com.

Early Screening and Early Intervention for Technology Overuse

In my last blog I discussed the need to conduct early technology screenings and the need for early intervention - by "early" I am referring to preschool and elementary school. Due to the proliferation of tech devices young children are saturated with digital media which creates change resistant patterns of technology consumption.

The key is for parents to carefully regulate technology use in order to prevent change resistant patterns from emerging. How much time should children be using technology?

0 to 2 years NONE

3 to 5 years 1 hour per day of non violent TV/DVD (no handheld devices or video games!)

6 to 9 years 2 hours per day of  total screen time (non violent TV/DVD and non violent video games such as Wii Sports or Resorts - no handheld devices of any kind!).

9 to 12 years 2 hours per day of total screen time (non violent TV/DVD 60 minutes, non violent video games 30 minutes, handheld devices 30 minutes).

13 to 18 years 2 hour per day of total screen time (non violent TV/DVD 30 minutes, non-violent video game, violent video games 30 minutes, hand devices 30 minutes).

No technology in bedrooms!

Rule of screen time use: for every one hour of screen time your child/teen must engage in 2 hours of physical activity.

In my next blog I will discuss 5 ways to successfully unplug children and teens from technology with the aim of maintaining a balance between offline life on cyber life.

The Importance of Early Screening for Technology Overuse

It is a common place occurrence in my practice to receive a phone call from a parent describing a teen -- usually a son -- who is in a video game addiction free fall: failing grades, social withdrawal, weight gain or weight loss, sleep deprivation, depression and anger when unplugged from gaming, and ever increasing preoccupation with gaming.

The first question I ask is "What have you tried to decrease you son's gaming?" In many cases the parent has tried many different strategies, including removing computers and tablets, gaming consoles and even unplugging wifi. Many parents have imposed restrictions on the amount of time and many have tied their son's grade point average to access to gaming. In short, most parents have made a good faith effort and, yet, their son's gaming only seems to increase over time.

When I ask how long their son has had a problem regulating gaming, the answer is typically 3 to 5 years. Parents often explain that their son was able to figure out a way to continue gaming, no matter what steps they took and no matter what barriers they put in place.

I explain that all is not lost - that we can work together to figure out a new way to decrease gaming and thereby restore balance between technology use and engagement in 3D reality. I also explain that changing gaming habits/patterns is a difficult process and requires time and focus and energy -- especially when the teen is fully opposed to change.

Parents often express frustration with the fact that no one gave them any warning or raised the issue of technology overuse or addiction. I then explain that in an ideal world there would have been some form of technology use screening early in their son's life so that they, as parents, could have put in place a structure or system that would have addressed the need for balance.

Unfortunately, with the possible exception of a pediatrician asking about screen time, very young children are consuming vast quantities of digital media and are developing what looks very much like a form of addiction to technology.

The key piece that is missing is early screening and early intervention. We need to treat digital media or "screen time" as a public health problem and put in place routine screenings - as we do with food and physical activity in order to prevent childhood obesity. As a society we need to understand that children are now growing up in a media saturated world that badly needs limits and structure in order to help prevent all forms of technology overuse and addiction.

If we can screen and intervene with a child rather than a teen, we stand a far greater chance of preventing the negative impact of technology overuse on development and mental health. Who would be responsible for this screening process: parents, pediatricians, mental health professionals, and educators.What is currently missing is information on the screening process. In my next blog I will review how to screen and intervene with children. In the meantime, go to my website and complete my technology screening test. This test will give a clear picture.of your son's current use and the need to intervene.