SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION IN ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS - PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL ASPECTS

Abstract

In a contemporary society in which individuals declare themselves increasingly busy, it appears that the prominent modality of relaxation and sometimes getting informed is the Internet. The modern age is defined by consumerism, advanced technology, globalization and explosive development of Mass Media. Adolescents and young adults have various information alternatives at their disposal, but also a high level of expectations from their social and professional environment. Therefore, feelings of doubt, anxiety and uncertainty may emerge, and different inferiority complexes can develop, making one reach an impossibility of developing one's identity, in a form of compensatory mechanisms that appear at the attitudinal and behavioral level. The present article aims to present the results of studies performed by our team on different groups of subjects aged from 15 to 24 years, as a starting point for informing the population about the medical risks they are exposed to, to prevent the effects of these behaviours that affect the overall functioning of the individual.