Most parents today worry their child spends too much time on social media. While families may joke about screen addictions, social media addictions are real. A form of process addiction, social media addictions can point to underlying mental health concerns and be detrimental to an adolescent’s well-being. Luckily, social media addiction treatment programs specialize in helping teens, which can help teens overcome the need to stay engaged in the digital world. Social media rehab can resolve a troubling situation for teen boys and their parents.

If your teen is struggling with social media use or social media habits are affecting their health, grades, and well-being, call Foothills at Red Oak Recovery®. Our treatment programs for adolescent boys cater to co-occurring disorders ranging from depression and drug use to excessive gaming and social media dependency. Call 866.300.5275 or visit us online to learn more about the benefits of Foothills.

What Is Social Media Addiction?

Like any addiction, when social media use negatively affects or interferes with a person’s life, it is considered an addiction. Social media addiction is also what’s called a process addiction. As a process addiction, a person repeatedly engages in social media use despite its harm to their life. This harm can come in many forms that don’t always seem obvious to parents. Social media and other process addictions are compulsive. Someone struggling with social media addiction will probably deny they have a problem with social media use. Other signs of social media addiction include:

• Changes in social habits, indicating a shift in how individuals interact with those around them
• Lower grades, reflecting a possible decline in academic performance and attention
• Neglecting friends and family, demonstrating a withdrawal from close personal relationships
• Trouble sleeping, which may include difficulties falling or staying asleep
• Experiencing anxiety or panic attacks, which are intense bouts of fear or worry
• Constant social media use, showing an excessive engagement with digital platforms
• Extreme upset when social media is taken away, indicating a high dependency on digital interactions

Social Media Pushes People’s Buttons

Addiction to social media is increasingly common in today’s digital age. The platforms are designed to keep users hooked by consistently providing small bursts of dopamine and serotonin, which are triggered by interactions such as likes, shares, and gaining followers. These social media companies have mastered the art of programming algorithms to deliver these feel-good boosts frequently enough to ensure that users remain engaged for prolonged periods.

For many, the constant flow of positive reinforcement from social media interactions triggers a brain chemistry reaction remarkably similar to the dopamine surge seen with drug or alcohol use. This biochemical effect renders social media platforms profoundly addictive. Ultimately, they foster a dependence that might initially appear harmless but can profoundly affect mental health and well-being. This analogy to substance addiction highlights the potent impact social media can exert on the human mind. Sadly, it often results in extended use that disrupts daily activities and diminishes overall happiness.

Benefits of Social Media Addiction Rehab

When a person with a process addiction doesn’t use social media, video games, the internet, or other compulsions, they experience withdrawal. During this time, it isn’t easy to detox from social media at home. Creating social media rules can strain already difficult relationships between parents and teens. Treating social media addiction at home does not help teens address co-occurring disorders, peer pressure, and other aspects of a teen’s life that may be addiction’s root causes and triggers. Parents are often not the best candidates for helping a struggling teen.

Professional social media addiction rehab programs can help address underlying causes, triggers, and behaviors that affect a teen’s addiction. They can help both teens and their parents better understand needs, boundaries, and behaviors while improving communication. The programs often use cognitive-behavioral therapy to help teens rewire thought patterns and change their behaviors.

Working with individual, group, and family therapy sessions can help teens implement behavioral changes in every aspect of their lives. Many of these programs also featured alternative therapies that help teens disconnect from their social lives, screens, and anxieties through art, dance, equine, and outdoor therapies.

While many people may joke about social media addiction, it is a serious dependency. If ignored, process addictions can lead to substance abuse, self-harm, and other damaging behavior. It’s always best to seek professional support if you suspect your teen is suffering from a process addiction.

Start Social Media Addiction Rehab at Foothills at Red Oak Recovery®

If your teenage son struggles to disconnect from social media, Foothills at Red Oak Recovery® can help. Our North Carolina clinic helps teenage boys disconnect from their lives and reconnect with themselves with equine and large animal therapy. We specialize in treating process addictions and other co-occurring disorders. Reach out today at 866.300.5275 or use our online contact form to learn more about our social media addiction rehab programs.