Q: Can you please offer guidance on Fortnite? It seems to be all that kids 11-14 are doing these days. I do not allow my children to play, but saw my godson play and was horrified – the guns all look real, but the deaths show no blood. As a person who grew up in… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Ask the Mediatrician
Tagged: Internet & Computers
Is it ok for my 8-year-old child, who has ADHD, to play Minecraft?
Q: My 8-year-old son has ADHD and is on medication for it. He wants to play the video game, Minecraft, but I’m not sure if he should. Do you think it is ok for him to play, and if so, for how long? ~ Muddled about Minecraft, The Overworld, Earth A: Dear Muddled, Yes, your son… Read more »
How can I avoid making media into a “forbidden fruit” for my kids?
Q: I was able to attend a community presentation you gave about children and screen time. During your talk, you discouraged parents from setting screen time limits because doing so makes media into “forbidden fruit”, or increasingly tempting for kids. In my house, we often take away TV or iPad time from our kids (ages… Read more »
Is it dangerous to have my 3-month-old Skype with his grandparents?
Q: I’d like my parents to be able to see and start talking to my three-month-old son via Skype on my smartphone. I’m concerned about how the video emitted from the screen will affect his brain development and his eyes. Any advice will be helpful! ~ Nana Skype, New York, NY A: Dear Nana, This… Read more »
My 12-year-old son searched for “son and mother sex videos” online. What should I do?
Q: My 12-year old son is insecure due to the fighting in our country, Syria. We’ve had to move several times and my son expresses concern over losing me or his father, but mostly me. If I am in another room for a while, he will call from his own room, just to hear my… Read more »
I’m 20 and addicted to the Internet, what should I do?
Q: I’m a 20 year old male struggling with internet addiction. It has been ruining my life socially, academically, and personally. I want to break this addiction but I don’t know how. I’ve turned towards using programs to block websites and use complicated passwords to lock myself out of disabling the program but I always find a way… Read more »
How can I protect my child from inappropriate comments online?
Q: How do you deal with racism, vulgarity, and hatred found in comment sections, even on websites hosting material that is appropriate for my child like YouTube or educational coding websites? ~Troll Fighter, Grand Rapids, MI A: Dear TF, This is a great question, and one I’m sure anyone who has ever scrolled through an online… Read more »
I’m 14 and masturbate on webcam for strangers, how can I stop?
Q: I’m 14 and have had this bad habit for a while now, almost a year; I masturbate on webcam for total strangers. My mom’s caught me before, but that didn’t stop me. But now it’s taken control of my life. Like last week, on the last day of school, I masturbated in the boys’… Read more »
Do today’s media play a role in teen anxiety and depression?
Q: I am working on a project about adolescents in this century. I am curious why there are so many more cases of anxiety and depression within teenage groups these days. Do media play a role in this? Have antidepressants and anxiety medications helped or hurt youth? ~ Stressed Or Saddened, USA A: Dear SOS, Depression… Read more »
How should clinicians diagnose patients with “Internet Addiction”?
Q: I am a clinician who teaches psychiatry at a major medical school, where I lead a class on assessment and diagnosis of mental health and behavioral disorders. Recently my students asked me what kind of diagnosis one should give to designate Internet Addiction. What is the current understanding and clinical best practice? ~ Befuddled… Read more »
