Sani from Cepid in Rome raises the alarm about drug addiction: “Parents are unaware of the abuse that their children do”
It’s no longer just street drugs. Today the discomfort of younger people travels along two parallel tracks: the synthetic chemistry that invisibly invades the drug dealing channels and the solitary retreat in front of a screen. A changing and very fast discomfort, which displaces families and erases the old definition of addiction. From new molecules to digital cages, the active ingredient does not change: the impact on the brain circuits of pleasure produces the same effects as a drug, transforming apparently harmless behaviors into a true submerged emergency.
How drug addiction has changed
To raise a loud cry of alarm the prof. Gabriele Sani, Director of the Complex Operational Unit of Clinical and Emergency Psychiatryresponsible for CEPID (Integrated Psychiatric Center for Research, Prevention and Treatment of Addiction) of Gemelli Polyclinic of Rome: “Addictions no longer stop only at classic narcotic substances, unfortunately always dramatically widespread, but are evolving into serious behavioral and digital dysfunctions – explains Prof. Gabriele Sani – The data confirms that tens of thousands of Italian adolescents suffer or are at high risk of behavioral addictions. We are talking about a compulsive and pathological use of technology in its various forms: from generic time spent in front of a screen to social networks, video games, etc.”.
“These dynamics”, he adds, “act on the same brain networks stimulated by narcotic substances, seriously compromising the psychological, relational and educational development of our children. The greatest risk lies in the invisible nature of these addictions: often consumed within the home, through a smartphone or a computer, parents remain completely unaware of the drama that their children are experiencing, mistaking isolation for simple shyness or generational habit. Furthermore, when the problem becomes evident, we often tend to want to resolve the symptom quickly, without knowing how to deal with the underlying discomfort underlying the addiction itself. These kids often have a problem or a real psychiatric pathology that manifests itself through addiction. We must work on this, but also on the basic psychological situation of the boy and on the family and relational context as a whole.”
What the studies say about new addictions
The alarm is supported by a recent study published in the scientific journal “Frontiers in Psychology“, in the last two decades there has been a growing trend of digital addiction globally, in particular regarding the use of smartphones (27% of the population), social media (17%), internet (14%) and video games (6%), with adolescents as the category most exposed to the influence of digital technologies. Specifically, according to an analysis published in June in the scientific journal “Archives of Psychiatric Nursing”one in 4 adolescents globally (25%) would present a problematic use or similar to addiction to social networks, while a recent study published in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), highlights how addiction to smartphones now concerns the vast majority of adolescents, with 49.2% of children showing high levels of dependence, to which must be added 24.6% who register an exponential growth in symptoms already within 15 years.
Also in the sights video gameswith 41.1% of young people presenting use with a high risk of addiction. “These young people are not simply going through a difficult phase or a moment of rebellion: they are suffering and must be helped and treated. It is necessary to structure integrated prevention and treatment paths, which combine psychiatric support with behavioral rehabilitation and family support. Only through a solid therapeutic alliance between school, families and specialized centers such as CEPID can we tear apart the veil of isolation in which these young people have taken refuge, giving them back a real, authentic and free perspective on life from any form of slavery, be it chemical or virtual”, continues the professor. Healthy.
The problem of artificial intelligence
The use of Artificial Intelligence among very young people is also growing: according to the report “European children’s use and understanding of generative AI” curated by the international research network EU Kids Online (EUKO), today in Europe 72% of minors between 13 and 17 years old habitually rely on Generative AI (against only 28% who declare they make no use of it). It is in this scenario that the analysis of the Italian situation fits in, where the boundary between psychophysical and virtual discomfort is becoming increasingly blurred.
According to what emerges from the “Annual report to Parliament on the phenomenon of addictions“, in 2025, almost 350 thousand students under 18 reported having used at least one illegal substance during the year, equal to 23% of the minor school population, an increase compared to 2024 (+20%), with cannabis and cocaine as the most widespread substances. Substance use is also accompanied by risky behaviors linked to the use of digital technologies: around 15 thousand students between the ages of 11 and 13 present behaviors attributable to “social media addiction”, and 111 thousand students (7%) are at risk of internet gaming disorder.
How to deal with these new types of drug addiction
“We are faced with a completely new world, which obviously should not be demonized, nor considered the cause of all evil, which is often reassuring and deresponsible for the world of adults. We must learn to know it and manage it, protecting our children not from the world itself, but from its potential degenerations”, concludes the professor. Healthy. An alarming picture that is also reflected in addiction and abuse alcohol And drugs: a recent study conducted by University College London (UCL) has in fact highlighted a significant increase in the use of substances and abusive behaviors among young people in the Gen Z in their early 20s.
Around seven in 10 young adults (68%) in the UK say they have drunk too much alcohol in the last year, and almost a third (29%) regularly drink 6 or more alcoholic drinks at one time. The use of cannabis and so-called hard drugs among young people of Generation Z has increased considerably between the ages of 17 and 23. The percentage of those who said they had tried cannabis increased by 18% between the ages of 17 and 23 (31% versus 49%). The percentage of those who have tried hard drugs more than tripled (10% versus 32%). Globally, according to the “World Drug Report” of the United Nationsthere are over 330 million people (6% of the population) who use drugs, recording an increase of 5.2% in just 10 years.
