Vamping: causes and effects of the new youth trend

Vamping, the tendency to stay connected on social media for the whole night, is a phenomenon that was originally born in the United States and that is rapidly spreading also in Italy. In fact, the number of teenagers who stay connected until late at night to chat and post photos, thoughts and moods is constantly increasing.

These are boys who, like vampires - from which the name of the phenomenon derives - seem to live their social and social life at night, feeling then tired, weak and inconclusive during the day, in which they should take true teenage life.

The progress of technologies, the spread of social networks and the immense potential that characterizes them exert an irresistible appeal for teenagers. As is well known, adolescence is one of the most delicate and problematic phases of a person's life: it is this period, in fact, that marks the transition from an infantile phase to a "pre-adult" phase.

To accomplish this step, children must form their own personality, incorporating and integrating the various educational models learned from parents, peers and teachers, according to their own personal reading.

Precisely because the personality is not yet completely outlined, it is possible that you try to follow even models that are not properly adequate, beginning to assume harmful behaviors, such as vamping.

CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF VAMPING

The causes of vamping connect to various areas of the boy's personality; among the main ones there are certainly the tendency towards rebellion and the lack of socialization. The need for rebellion, typically adolescent, pushes young people to wait for the quiet night to connect: the night would, in fact, the perfect habitat to carry out what is not allowed during the day, thus freeing himself from parental control. Specifically, the night activities of teenagers range from watching TV series to chatting on Facebook, posting photos and selfie on Instagram at the same time and generate both a feeling of freedom, due to the transgression of rules and recommendations received, and a pleasant hint of autonomy.

In fact, thanks to the vamping, the boys zero parental control, thus feeling the only owners of their lives and the only architects of their actions.

Another cause of vamping is certainly the lack of concreteness in socialization activities.

Precisely because man is a social animal, socialization is a fundamental aspect of human life and as such can not and must not be neglected or relegated to the background as it is dangerously happening in contemporary society.

In fact, today's adolescents live a very laborious life characterized by a thousand commitments: school, sport, other extracurricular cultural activities that prevent, in fact, being with the peers for the sole pleasure of doing so.

Obviously this creates a relational vacuum that the boys try to fill at night thanks to the vamping that can be associated, moreover, also to the need to feel special: being involved in nighttime multichat makes the adolescent experience the pleasant sensation of being part of a unique group that has the same unique methods of communication and recall.

Regarding the consequences, one perceives how the vamping is a phenomenon not detached from harmful effects on boys.

As shown by research conducted by the Goldsmith University in London and Tel Aviv University on adolescents and vamping, boys who sleep poorly and little are likely to exhibit various problems, such as antisocial behavior or predisposition to develop addictions from substances such as alcohol and drugs.

Considering that you stay awake until late, the main side effect is the poor quality of sleep that would have repercussions on many aspects of life. Sleeping little at night, during the day you are tired, not very careful and concentrated, you are irritable and aggressive.

In other words, vamping and continuous nocturnal connectivity could generate mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, eating disorders and behavior at school and in the family.

In fact, it is not rare cases of clashes with parents who, feeling unable to cope with the gravity of the situation, end up imposing restrictions and restrictions on children that have only the opposite effect.

The vamping could also become a real obsession that would push teenagers to have no other needs outside of the connection at night and check comments to posts and notifications of WhatsApp, which would result in a harmful addiction that would alter the balance psychophysics of young people.

PROBLEM MANAGEMENT

Having made these assessments, we must point out that there are some tricks that if followed would allow a proper management of the vamping to avoid turning into an unhealthy habit.

Obviously, it is up to parents to have the biggest task they should:

educating children to technology from an early age, through precise rules that set the times and methods for the consumption of TV, smartphones, videogames, computers and the Internet.

Giving children the necessary space for adequate socialization: finding moments in which they can be free to be with friends without any further "distraction" around; be qualitatively present in the adolescence of the children with discretion, in order to be configured as points of reference on which you can rely in case of doubts, needs and needs.