Aired on April 26, 2010– 11 am PST on LATalkRadio.com
TO LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM: PLAY | DOWNLOAD
TITLE: “THE FOUR HEADED MONSTER – Creating Teen Anxiety & Depression”
SPECIAL GUEST: Jared Balmer, Ph.D., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist; Co-founder of Island View Residential Treatment Center, the Oakley School, and the Aspen Institute for Behavioral Assessment; recipient of National Leadership Award of the National Associated for Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP)
To download Dr. Balmers’ “Four Headed Monster” presentation for today’s show, please CLICK HERE
A guiding light in the field of teen intervention, Dr. Jared Balmer, joins Allen to discuss the challenges he believes have evolved over the past decade which are having a detrimental impact on the emotional health of adolescents today. Those challenges are: a) electronic/virtual social networking; b) the lack of coping skills; c) the sexualization of youth and girls, in particular; and d) the overabundance of choice available in a consumer society. The combination of those 4 issues is what Dr. Balmer refers to the “perfect storm” or the Four Headed Monster.
In the Four Headed Monster, Dr. Balmer identifies what he terms the “Pitfall of Electronic Communications that lead teens in Social Isolation”:
- Over-dependence on peer group
- Lack of independent decision making
- Lack of non-verbal communication skills
- Excessive catharsis and disclosure
- Decline in written language skills
- Declining social skills
He also reveals the paradox of Virtual Socialization:
- Studies show that people spend hours in a virtual world with “people” they don’t know, taking time away from real socializing with friends.
- Feeling like one gets to know someone without actually knowing them.
- “Friends” are not really friends.
- Physical contact of being with real friends fades and one slowly becomes disconnected with reality.
The facts about excessive social networking demonstrate: 1) a direct correlation between number of hours used on online social networks and one’s social isolation, and; 2) the more hours you spend, to more you increase social isolation from family and real friends.
