Playtimes HK Magazine September 2017 Issue | Page 57

of time that teen wants to talk with you
as a parent, and noting a preference for
spending time on their device, is therefore
completely normal. However, if your teen
is becoming socially isolated in general, it
may be a cause for concern. Withdrawing
socially altogether can be a sign of low
mood or anxiety, as well as more serious
mental health difficulties. Importantly,
social withdrawal will normally serve as a
maintaining factor in most mental health
problems. Isolation can reinforce an
anxiety that your teen has about the world
around them through avoidance. It can
make an individual feel more alone, giving
them time to ruminate and feel lower in
mood. Social withdrawal can also form a
barrier between any difficult or worrying
internal experiences of your teen and
helpful, normalising social interactions.
If you are noticing that your teen
is engaging in prolonged periods of
self-isolation, then try to speak to them
gently about the reasons for this. If they
won’t talk to you, maintain an open door
but try and encourage them to speak
to friends, teachers, or other trusted
individuals. Seek professional help if you
are concerned about their wellbeing.
Friends are the leading factor in your
teen’s short-term choices like appearance
and interests, whereas parents and
caregivers influence their longer-term
decisions, their relating style, and their
values and morals. The short-term camp
can sometimes seem like the obvious
authority over your teen’s behaviours
and their social interactions, which can
be frustrating for a parent, however it
is important to remember that this is a
vital part of development, and therefore
– as long as the teen is not engaging in
dangerous or harmful behaviours – these
relationships are to be encouraged. The
parent is still the secure base that the teen
will come back to when most-needed.
They may even put into practice some
of their newly developed social skills to
support the parent at times. Maintaining
strong relationships with both parents
and friends is key to helping your teen to
grow into an adult with strong social skills.
Keeping them talking is key.
Dr Hannah Reidy, Clinical Psychologist at
Central Health Medical Practice
and engaging in these social interactions
and peer relationships. The high reward
value of many social media sites is also
especially intoxicating to a teen. The
prefrontal cortex again plays its part in
this. As well as managing emotional
responses, the area also has a role
in behavioural inhibition and impulse
control. If a social interaction is rewarding,
then their under-developed prefrontal
cortex makes it very hard for a teen to
disengage, and put their phone or device
away. Websites like Facebook, on which
even an adult with a fully developed
brain can spend long periods of time,
are incredibly captivating to teens, who
will struggle to control their impulses
and shut down a social app. This
under-developed impulse control is also
thought to be one of the reasons that
teens engage in risky behaviours, despite
having been warned of the dangers and
disadvantages of doing so.
Noticing some reduction in the amount
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