We\u2019re Talking About Warmth![\"Teen](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/4e608dbc6528a17ae53ffe5a241ece17.jpeg\"\/)
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Photo by HayDmitriy on Deposit Photos<\/p>\n
A study that\u2019s just now being published in\u00a0Frontiers In Psychology\u00a0examined\u00a0internet addiction in college students<\/a>\u00a0and looked for a correlation with parenting choices.<\/p>\n It turns out that when parenting is warm and loving, our kids are less likely to suffer out-of-control levels of internet addiction by the time they reach young adulthood. The study even found a connection that helps explain the link.<\/p>\n The students who had warm, loving relationships with their parents and showed lower levels of tech addiction also tended to have higher levels of self-esteem and self-control.<\/p>\n By contrast, there was a clear link between more negative or harsh parenting and internet addiction. There was also evidence of lowered self-esteem or self-control in these subjects, although the connection wasn\u2019t quite as strong as in the positive examples.<\/p>\n Is Dopamine The Missing Puzzle Piece?<\/p>\n We already know that the reason most of our internet usage, online gaming, and doomscrolling becomes so addictive is the dopamine hits.<\/p>\n If you think of the places you spend the most time online or on your electronic devices, whether that\u2019s TikTok and social media, or your favorite merge or match-three style casual game, you\u2019ll notice that they all draw you in by the same methods.<\/p>\n It takes only a few moments to get a dopamine hit; Oh, my friend is getting married, check out the funny dog video, there\u2019s another match, and look at those blocks tumble! \u2014 and there\u2019s another one waiting right behind it.<\/p>\n If you find yourself saying, \u201cJust one more [scroll\/level\/post\/video]\u201d over and over, that\u2019s the dopamine holding you tight.<\/p>\n We can all be susceptible to dopamine addiction, but it seems to be stronger when a person is lacking in human connection. A 2022 study in Frontiers In Psychology examined the connection, finding that individuals who had a sense of \u201csocial exclusion\u201d were more subject to<\/a> smartphone addiction.<\/p>\n Does Internet Addiction Really Matter? Photo by yanlev on Deposit Photos<\/p>\n Even in high school, our kids are using the internet constantly, not just for entertainment, but for education. <\/p>\n In many schools, the textbooks are now e-books, the tests are online, and even the classes might be done over distance. By college, this amps up. Research is done on a laptop, rather than in the library.<\/p>\n Outside school, most of our kids are destined for jobs that rely on internet skills, whether that means managing a company, running computer diagnostic programs in a mechanic shop, or operating microcomputers that carry out less invasive surgical procedures.<\/p>\n Everything in our kids\u2019 lives may rely on tech, but rather than negate the need for temperance, that only amplifies it.<\/p>\n Increasingly, we see that internet addiction has a severely negative impact on mental health, relationships, and life satisfaction. It\u2019s imperative that we teach our kids how to use this tech and the ability to step away from it.<\/p>\n What Does All That Mean For Parents?<\/p>\n This means that the efforts we put into actively teaching our kids self-control and limiting electronics are not the whole story.<\/p>\n We do have to encourage our kids to find \u2018slow dopamine.\u2019 Slow dopamine is the pleasant feeling when you\u2019ve learned something new through effort, or when you\u2019ve completed a project, or after exercise or meaningful social connections. Slow dopamine is associated with long-term happiness, with overall well-being, and as an ingredient in the recipe for success.<\/p>\n (By contrast, that quick dopamine we get from scrolling is associated with, you won\u2019t be surprised to know, addictive behaviors, dissatisfaction, and the craving for more, more, more.)<\/p>\n However, this new data reaffirms that social connection, and a warm connection with parents, is a key.<\/p>\n While we\u2019re instructing our kids on the \u2018right\u2019 way to engage with their screens, the lesson seems to last more if we\u2019re also engaging with them warmly and lovingly.<\/p>\n![\"Teens](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/98253accff44ac86258fbe4b6a6049b5.jpeg\"\/)
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