Every year, the first week of May is celebrated as "Informatics Week" to focus on the conscious and beneficial use of technology that changes, develops, and influences people's lives. The whole society, especially children and young people, should be encouraged to use information technologies safely and consciously. Asst. Prof. Dr. Nurten Elkin, the coordinator of the Struggling with Addiction Office at Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU), Faculty of Health Sciences, stated that the misuse of technology causes great difficulties in life and that society should be informed about technology addiction. Dr. Elkin also added the whole society, especially children and young people, should be encouraged to use information technologies safely and consciously.
Indications of technology addiction!
The concept of addiction, which is defined as an excessive fondness for an object or behavior, is often associated with the use of substances such as cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs. In recent years, it has been argued that some behaviors such as gambling, exercise, eating, and sleeping are also addictive. Public Health Specialist Nurten Elkin: “The same is true for technological devices and applications such as computers, internet, online games, tablets, and mobile phones. Excessive use of these technologies can lead to technology addiction in people. In addition to physical problems such as burning in the eyes, pain, and stiffness in the neck muscles, impaired body posture, numbness and weakness in the hands in technology addiction, decrease in academic achievement, personal problems, family and school problems, failure to manage time, sleep disorders, decrease in activities.’’
Adolescents who have insufficient relationships with their families tend to use technology more
Risks such as exposure of children to undesirable and inappropriate content, risk factors of children leading to physical, emotional, sexual, and economic abuse by adults, and children producing, publishing, or distributing hateful material about other children should be considered. Significantly, children are equipped with the knowledge and skills to be safe online. Asst. Prof. Dr. Elkin: “There is a strong relationship between technology addiction and loneliness. When the studies on technology addiction in adolescents are examined, the risk that the adolescents have an insufficient relationship with their families, cannot spend effective time with their families, lack of communication, interest, and love within the family, not providing a healthy and safe environment and inconsistent behaviors within the family cause the adolescent to tend to use technology more.”
