November 16, 2025 — Episode #96
Content note: this episode includes a story about an online predator targeting a young teenage girl, along with references to teen suicide risk and pornography.
Having worked through 14 possible signs of teen rebellion over recent weeks, Jerry and Becky Drace add a 15th to the list: internet addiction — and spend the rest of the hour unpacking what that actually looks like in a home.
They first close out a few leftover “issues to consider,” including peer pressure around drugs and alcohol, a family history of mental illness, and unusual stress in a teen’s life, noting that stress and rejection are common precursors to depression and suicidal thinking. They then define internet addiction as an inability to control time spent online despite the strain it puts on relationships, school, or work, citing a statistic that 88.5 percent of Americans use the internet regularly. From there they walk through the first three recognized types of internet addiction: cyber-sex addiction (pornography, chat rooms, and webcam services), net compulsions (online gambling and shopping), and cyber relationships. The episode ends with a sobering story about a stalker who had been posing online as a young teen to a 12- or 13-year-old girl and showed up at her family’s front door after she mentioned her parents would be out for the evening.
Topics discussed:
- Recap of 14 possible signs of teen rebellion covered so far
- Peer pressure, family mental-health history, and stress as risk factors
- Defining internet addiction and how common internet use has become
- Cyber-sex addiction, including pornography and chat rooms
- Net compulsions: online gambling and compulsive shopping
- Cyber relationships and the danger of online predators
- A story about an online predator targeting a young teenage girl
- Suggestions for a family “media-free” day
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