Troubled Teens Resources

Schools for troubled teens seem like a throwback to the 18th century for some out-of-control teens. Especially for those teens who are addicted. No, we are not talking about teen age drug abuse and addictions. Add internet addiction to your lexicon of destructive habits that you do not want your teen to acquire.

These kids need to be wired up, connected, plugged-in, online. It is the air that they breathe and, for some, the only type of connection that they have with anyone, ever. In the real world,these are the teens who feel inept, clumsy and despised by their peers and family. They are alienated from everyone, except for those connections, for good or ill, that they make online.

Military schools, boarding schools - none of them allow the internet addicted teen to take refuge in a virtual world 24/7. Use of the internet is considered a privelege. For some kids those rules force them to deal with the social and relationship issues that they fear.

But it is not all on the troubled teen. Parents, as usual play a pivotal and primary role. When the writer, linked below, asked high school students what issues were most important to them, their number one answer was the relationship, or lack thereof, that they had with their parents.

“Independent of the depressing effects of excessive Internet use, the most devastating impact of Internet addiction may be the decreased amount of quality time teenagers have with their parents. Just like other addictions, the Internet addict probably suffers from feelings of emotional and physical isolation from his or friends and family and spends little time involved in healthy relationships which are the basis for positive emotional development.”

(source)

Read the link above for an instructive look at internet addiction and the importance of having your teen connect with you, not the internet.