Question : My son is addicted to playing games online and to virtual friends. He has stopped connecting physical friends and is desperate to talk with virtual friends. We have disconnect Wifi n mobile internet connection. He misbehaves to have the internet and to talk with his virtual friends . What to do in this situation. Teentalker’s Parent , 48-year-old
Dear Parent,
Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns.It is truly wonderful to know that you are concerned about your son’s addiction to the online world, which in turn has lead to a decrease in interactions with real friends and people. It is also good to know that you have disconnected Wifi and mobile internet connection, though honestly, this might do more harm than good for now.
So, here are a few tips I would like to put across in order to help you deal with your son’s addiction:
1. Instead of completely depriving access to Wifi, giving him limited internet access would help. That way he will be less irritated and angry in the earlier stages, which in turn can help in long-term recovery.
2. Help him to focus on other ways to unwind, as you mentioned, by encouraging him to hangout with real friends, family or even by going for a walk or a run in a nearby park or garden. If possible, he can also consider doing some yoga or mediation. Mindfulness and meditation can help a person to calm down and get the much needed clarity in terms of ‘how to live life’ and ‘what to do next’.
3. Ask your son the following three questions: What makes life worth living? What are you good at? What makes you extremely happy? Ask him to write down the answers to these questions. That should help him in putting things in perspective.
4. Discovering meaning and purpose in your life as well devoting time to helping others can help your son to look at life from a different perspective.
Hope this helps, if you have any other query do connect online for chat between 11am-8pm or drop us an offline message.
Regards,
Expert Teentalk India