I Lost My Child to the Internet | Free Antivirus

A new danger has crept unobtrusively into German children's and teenagers' rooms: the addiction to role-play and social media on the Internet. Experts estimate that every 10 students are affected. In this report, tips from the experts explain how you can recognize the danger, which preventive measures help, and what you can do yourself.

world-of-warcraft-children's-computer An ordinary evening with the S. family from Nuremberg. All family members sit at the table for dinner. People laugh, talk, and discuss. Only one place remains empty again. Son Oliver, 15 years old, doesn't want to hear anything about the family dinner. He stays in front of his computer. As always. Because Oliver is addicted to gambling. His drug is called "World of Warcraft". And nothing and no one can dissuade him from this drug. Every attempt by his parents so far has failed miserably. If he is forced to leave his place in front of the screen, he reacts with acts of defiance and anger, and in the worst case even becomes physical. And he begins to sweat and shiver, becomes nervous, and suffers from poor concentration and poor circulation. Oliver needs at least six hours a day for his addiction satisfaction on the computer. Without the WOW - this is what die-hard fans call the most famous of all games - life no longer makes sense for him. Oliver is addicted to role-playing games. And he's not the only one.

10 percent of young people are at risk of addiction

According to the Hamburg addiction researcher Prof. Rainer Thomasius, 10 percent of German students are at risk of addiction or already show addiction behavior. And the number is steadily increasing. 70 percent of children between the ages of six and 13 play on the computer at least once a week. A quarter of them even daily. And if it's not the computer, then at least 37 percent of children sit in front of their game consoles or video games. The digital toy has long since found its way into today's children's rooms. A lucrative move. In 2009 the game industry made $ 40 billion worldwide. In 2013 profits should have already doubled.

Most parents notice their children's gambling addiction and online addiction too late

Many parents and adults no longer understand this world of their children. Or they have no way of noticing the kids' problem in time. Because computer gambling addiction is a creeping problem. Dr. Oliver Bilke from the Swiss Center for Addiction Issues in Children and Adolescents (SZSKJ) and the SOMOSA model station in Winterthur also calls it a “sleeping tiger”. Many young people are far more familiar with computers or the virtual world than their parents. Unpleasant obstacles like a blocked WiFi can be bypassed with a few tricks. Often people play and chat at night when the parents are already sleeping with a clear conscience and think their offspring is safe. But it is precisely then that the young people secretly surf the virtual world of the Internet. What is noticeable here is that the boys primarily prefer role-playing games, while the girls log in to chat platforms and social media such as Facebook. The perfidious thing about it: Most parents recognize the addiction problem too late. Because the children bawl, drink, not hit. They just disappear, imperceptibly.

Why are the internet and online gaming addicting?

"When playing in the virtual world, the brain is much more active and stimulated than, for example, when reading or watching TV," explains Dr. Klaus Mathiak from the Aachen Clinic in the ARD program “Play, play, play - when the computer is addictive”. This was shown by a study at the clinic. The subjects were all significantly more involved, particularly emotionally, compared to other occupations. So, Dr. Mathiak sure, an online game is more than just a game. By building role-playing games such as World of Warcraft, the reward system in the brain is activated.

The better the gamer gets, the more items (objects that help him) he can collect, the higher the sense of achievement. This in turn leads to increased levels of dopamine, a hormone that makes you happy. However, if the player wants to continue to have positive feelings, he must keep playing. Just like Oliver. Former interests like athletics didn't matter to him. His grades in high school got so bad that he had to change schools. He only meets up with his best friends on the Internet, although they all live in the immediate vicinity. Instead, Oliver sits in front of the computer for at least six hours a day. At the weekend it can easily be ten or more hours.

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"I only ate in the virtual world!"

Daily activities such as eating or sleeping are just a necessary evil for the gambling addict. Feelings of hunger are often suppressed with cola or milk. This can easily be consumed during the game. Normal activities like eating or sleeping take a back seat. “I didn't feel like eating in real life anymore. Instead, I dined with different characters from WOW - but only in the virtual world, ”explains a gambling addict on the ARD program who has lost everything in his life due to his online addiction: girlfriend, job, acquaintance, joie de vivre.

Fascination Facebook

When 13-year-old Jeannette comes home from school in the afternoon, she has only one goal: Facebook. She sits in front of her laptop for hours and chats with her friends. Personally, she knows very few of her more than 300 registered friends, but that doesn't bother her. The friends all have fantasy names like Mangagirl200 or Tokamisuperstar - most of the names are based on the Japanese characters, also known as Mangas - and no one knows for sure whether they are all girls of their age. Nevertheless, Jeanette feels at home in this cyber clique. “Today everyone is logged into Facebook,” she says. “If you want to be part of it and have a say, you simply have to have a profile!” This social network has become an absolute must for young people in recent years.