Irene is 14 years old. Her desire to please and to like herself makes her ask her parents open an account on InstagramThey don't think it's appropriate, but they give in to Irene's insistence that she will just «watch.» A few months later, Irene and her parents are sitting in my office, embroiled in tremendous conflict after the minor continued a conversation with a supposed boy of her age, who turned out to be an adult…
For his part, Jonathan, 15, creates an Instagram profile without his parents' permission. However, by chance, a classmate, unaware of this, tells Jon's mother «we already talked on Insta.» This leads to a small conflict between the parents and the minor that spills over into the therapy that we have been following for months for other reasons.
Instagram, the favorite network of teenagers
- Easy to use.
- Content can only be uploaded through the app, which is very similar to the way young people use the Internet.
- Possibility of uploading photos and content in real time.
- Tagging people.
- Participation in conversations through hashtags.
- Relative ease of generating a community of followers.
- Stories format: content uploaded in this format can only be viewed within 24 hours of its publication.
- Feeding the ego through the likes received.
- Comment and chat with friends and strangers. This can be done publicly or through private messages.
Why Instagram is an addictive network
- Narcissism. The main characteristic of this network is how it promotes narcissism. More than ever, likes are important and success is measured by how many followers the user has and how much their photos are liked. This leads to overexposure and the projection of an image that does not always correspond to reality, which is often more routine and monotonous. Young people perceive that their environment and «idols» lead a different life to theirs, where consumerism and first impressions abound, which leads to frustration and, if they do not get likes and comments, to an increasingly undermined life. self-esteem and self-awareness of themselves.
- Thoughtless, impulsive consumption. Social reinforcement. Users themselves reinforce through their interactions attitudes in which image, clothing, impulsive consumption, etc. take precedence and not values that are important to them. create strong self-esteem. The more “likes” you receive, the more positive social reinforcement you generate, as well as a greater desire to continue gaining social admiration.
Now that we know the network, let's see what the possible ones are. risks for our teenagers:
- Privacy and security. Teenage Instagrammers share data over the Internet that violates their privacy and security. Although it may seem harmless to upload photos, locate them, tag the people they are with or participate in microchats where more personal data is provided, there are certain people who could misuse this information, generating a pattern of the sites where our young people move, how often, with whom, and abuse this information to serve purposes, often criminal; that is, if a metadata expert is able to arrive at a pattern in which he knows that on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 6 to 8 pm, you are busy with your extracurricular activities and there is no one else at home, it could be used to plan a robbery in your house. Therefore, it is necessary to know the “privacy” tab through which you can change your preferences. In this tab, and if you suspect cyberbullying, you can untag yourself from a post by the harasser, block him or even report him.
- CyberbullyingBullying through social media has been affecting teenagers for a long time. It started out as a small phenomenon through Messenger, then spread to Facebook, Twitter – with calls for self-harm, for example, in groups – and now through Instagram, which is more protective when it comes to cutting, but whose consequences can lead to having structured thoughts about suicide. In this sense, it is necessary for schools to become more involved in raising awareness about the issue through informative talks.
- Possible addictionIt is one of the social networks – although not the only one, for example there is WhatsApp – that creates the greatest addiction; it is easy to install, easy to use and is based on its visual character. Therefore, it is easy to control, apparently.
- Tendency to some psychological disorders. According to a study carried out by the University of Cambridge together with the Royal Society of Public Health, if more than two hours a day are spent using social media, such as Instagram, teenagers are more likely to suffer from anxiety-depressive symptoms. However, there are other common problems such as dysmorphobia – since they upload full-body or bikini photos, which produces a comparison with other teenagers or influencers – TCA and other emotional problems linked to self-harm, above all. Last but not least, generating fewer likes than a friend produces anxiety and frustration. Similarly, insomnia appears – “you don’t have to waste a minute because if not, the others will have already overtaken you”, a teenage patient told me not long ago to explain her indiscriminate use of the network – And, without knowing it, she was describing another possible problem; the “FOMO Syndrome” or fear of being left out of the network. Specifically, fear of missing out, as physical friendships are replaced by digital friendships with whom we are connected simply by a “like” on a photo. It is not only a psychological problem but a social one. It is obvious that something is wrong in a society that is moving towards the most egotistical individualism seen in recent generations.
Not everything is negative, there are positive aspects:
• Development of the ability to become aware of oneself and others.
• Form of expression in search of an identity that, however, should be built closer to the group of friends.
• Ability to create a community.
• Emotional support is offered and we can connect with people who have the same concerns as us.
• Development of creativity.
Guidelines for parents
- Children under 13 should not have any kind of profile – either alone or accompanied by adults – on any social network. In fact, nomophobia would decrease if, before this age, children were not bought a mobile phone.
- Parents should have direct and regular access to their minor children's Instagram. This way, responsible parental control can be exercised and you can make sure that nothing is affecting their privacy.
- The profile must be private, closed to strangers, so that only confirmed friends can access the minor's information.
- Monitor the photos uploaded by minors; avoid underwear, sexy situations, and suggested nudity.
- Talk to your children about the need to protect and take care of themselves, not accepting invitations from strangers, avoiding showing their location, for safety reasons.
- Maintain rules between parents and children regarding the appropriate use of Instagram as well as the time of use, which should also be limited.
Consult a psychologist in case of risk of addiction, parent-child conflicts, problems in managing addiction, etc.
Make an appointment
Leave your question and a psychologist will offer you personalized help.