Las redes sociales en línea no son adictivas

In recent years there has been a remarkable increase in publications about possible behavioral and technological addictions. The addictive use of online social networks in particular has generated considerable interest, mainly due to the use made of these services by teenagers. Teens use social networks to build their social and gender identities. For today's teenagers, online social networks are so intrinsically woven into their lives that they really cannot imagine what life would be like without them. Staying active online and connected to social networks increases their social capital and it is difficult to sustain the so-called Internet "paradox". In many cases, dependence on a kind of technology is confused with a behavioral addiction because one has incrementally less and less time to adapt to a rapidly evolving technology. It is more appropriate and productive to distinguish between true addictions on the one hand and excesses and transitory problems on the other, and it is better to educate in favor of transformation and on issues of hyperconnectivity and to suggest "digital diets" and rules of etiquette than it is to diagnose. Social media may cause some excesses, but addiction may not be among them, despite the general tendency to attach diagnostic labels to small irritations.