Signs of Facebook addiction that require immediate medical attention.
According to Dr. Nguyen Doan Phuong, Director of the Institute of Mental Health (Bach Mai Hospital), Facebook addiction will negatively impact life, work, and studies; it can even cause hallucinations.
More and more young people are becoming addicted to Facebook.
Dr. Phuong recounted the case of a 14-year-old boy who was brought in by his family due to seizures after his parents forbade him from using Facebook. The boy had a history of using social media for 10 hours a day (while eating, on the toilet, or whenever he had free time), was withdrawn, reluctant to socialize, and showed signs of paranoia.
More and more people are becoming dependent on Facebook. Photo: Internet.
“The confiscation of the phone caused the child to become withdrawn and have seizures. When I examined the child, I discovered delusional hallucinations. The child said there were always ‘voices,’ sometimes male, sometimes female, in his head telling him, ‘You have to play,’” Dr. Phuong recounted.
Recently, the Central Psychiatric Hospital No. 1 also admitted a female patient, NTTH (18 years old), who was brought in by her parents in a very unusual situation. Seeing their daughter addicted to Facebook, her parents cut off her internet access, preventing her from going online. The patient reacted violently, smashing furniture and resisting her parents, forcing the family to sedate her and take her to the psychiatric hospital.
Dr. To Thanh Phuong, Deputy Director of Central Psychiatric Hospital No. 1, said this is a typical case of depression caused by social media addiction.
The patient's family said they had noticed unusual signs in their daughter for the past four months. Their daughter was no longer a diligent and academically successful student; instead, she had undergone unusual personality changes, becoming withdrawn, not socializing with friends, and her academic performance had declined.
"Even on November 20th, when friends invited us to visit our teachers, we didn't go. At mealtimes, we didn't come down to eat, we stayed awake."nightStaying up until 2-3 AM or going into the bathroom and turning off the lights just to surf the internet.
The situation reached a breaking point when I discovered my daughter was skipping school and staying home glued to her phone, scrolling through Facebook. My wife and I tried to reason with her, but she wouldn't listen, so we cut off her internet access. Unexpectedly, she reacted violently, smashing things in the house, becoming irritable, and even cursing at her parents.
"We invited a psychologist to our home, but it was unsuccessful because our daughter was uncooperative, claiming she wasn't sick. Reluctantly, we had to use a sedative to take her to the hospital," the patient's father shared.
According to Dr. Nguyen Doan Phuong, in reality, treatment experience shows that many psychiatric patients admitted to the hospital have a history of using Facebook for many hours a day. Patients are brought in for depression, schizophrenia, hallucinations, etc., but after treatment, they no longer use Facebook as much as before.
When pediatric patients come for examination due to mental health issues, a history reveals that many children use Facebook for 4-5 hours a day.
You should see a doctor immediately if you experience the following symptoms.
Dr. Nguyen Doan Phuong advises that if you or your family members see that your child or sibling has tried to reduce their Facebook use without success (feeling an increasing urge to use it; becoming restless or having trouble if forbidden from using Facebook); or if you use Facebook so much that it has negatively impacted your work/studies, you should seek medical attention immediately because Facebook addiction causes many disorders in the body.
Many people struggle to control their Facebook usage time, neglecting all their previous hobbies; affecting their work, studies, and relationships with family and friends in real life… These are signs of Facebook dependence and the resulting consequences of focusing solely on the virtual world. Facebook addiction can disrupt eating and sleeping habits, exacerbating mental health issues.
Dr. Phuong advises adults to supervise their children's use of Facebook and other social media. Even adults should use it responsibly, setting rules and schedules to only access Facebook during specific times of the day.
Especially for young children, take them to the park and create more fun activities so they don't spend too much time watching TV, using iPads, or becoming addicted to TV and Facebook, which can have many negative health consequences.
