Teens Who Gamble Online Could Be on Fast Track to Addiction
In their latest column, Dr. Dave Moore and Bill Manville of the New York Daily News write about the dangerous mix of teens suffering from depression and/or ADHD and Internet addiction, including online gambling.
“Internet addiction becomes a real possibility for kids already struggling socially and emotionally,” says Dr. Susan Bartell, author of “The Top 50 Questions Kids Ask.” She continues, ”Parents with a child or teen diagnosed with ADHD, depression, anxiety or aggression MUST monitor the amount of time their child spends online. In fact, I’d recommend that no child—with or without a diagnosis—spend more than two hours a day on the Internet.”
Dr. Dave says he would double that amount for tech-savvy high school students working on school projects, and suggests that parents set limits with their children. “If you are concerned that you have lost that control of your child’s Internet use, you should seek professional health; just as you would with any other addiction,” he writes.
When asked if excessive Internet use could be a jumping-off point for other addictions, Dr. Dave responds that addiction experts have been too silent about this proposal. “While the addictions field is eager to talk about alcohol, drugs, sex or eating disorder risks for our kids, it’s like we don’t believe gambling could be infecting the teen population at the rapidly rising rates it is spreading,” he writes.
Bill points out that according to the National Academy of Sciences, one in three high school students gamble on a regular basis, and Dr. Dave responds that the “growing threat is the accelerating connections to sports betting, real-money poker, and the whole gamut of Vegas-style games that are available to any kid who can click and point on his or her computer screen.”
“Parents of today didn’t grow up in a world where casino and lottery gambling was nationwide. There were no televised high stakes poker contests that promoted deciding whether to ‘hold 'em or fold 'em’ as a legitimate sport,” Dr. Dave continues, adding that parents should check the Teen Help website for a good checklist of symptoms of teen problem gambling.
He adds, “I would treat finding gambling Web pages on your teen’s Internet history with the same concern as if you found a baggie with crystal meth in their drawer.”
