“Technology Addiction in Adolescents”

In Informatics week, which is the first week of May; the mental health of the community needs to provide training and information about technology addiction, which is one of them, and the wrong use of technology, which is indispensable for life when used correctly, causes great difficulties in life.
In the 2017 State of the World's Children: Children in the Digital World report published by UNICEF in 2017, the risks children face online are addressed in three categories: content risks, communication risks, and behavioral risks.
Content risks include situations where children are exposed to undesirable and inappropriate content. It is dangerous for children to encounter pornographic and violent videos/images on the Internet, and websites that advocate unhealthy or dangerous behaviors. Communication risks include risk factors that lead to physical, emotional, sexual, and economic abuse of children by adults. Behavioral risks include situations where children behave in a way that contributes to risky content or communication. This includes children producing, publishing, or distributing hateful material about other children. Considering all these risk factors, children must be equipped with the knowledge and skills to be safe in online environments.
According to the 2018 publications of the World Health Organization, although the rates of gaming disorders vary from country to country, their prevalence in the general population varies between 1.3 percent and 9.9 percent.
When the studies on technology addiction in adolescents are examined; Inadequate relationship with the family, not able to spend time effectively with the family, lack of communication, interest, and love in the family, and inability to provide a healthy and safe environment for the adolescent at home, inconsistent behaviors within the family, lack of role distribution within the family, role conflicts, Having excessive expectations have been reported as risk factors that cause adolescents to tend to use technology more. In addition, peer pressure, low perceived social support, loneliness, and shyness are among the other reported risk factors.
The increase in the time spent on the Internet (smartphone, computer, gaming devices) increases the risk of technology addiction in the adolescent. It is reported that there is a strong relationship between technology addiction and the feeling of loneliness. The reason for this relationship is explained in two ways. First of all, the reasons that lead individuals to excessive use of technology and technology use tools can also cause the individual to be alone in society. Secondly, with the excessive use of technology, the individual moves away from society after a while, which can cause him to be alone. In this context, one of the concepts reported for technology addiction is the concept of social anxiety. Studies have shown that adolescents with high levels of social anxiety tend to use social networks more on the Internet. Similarly, it is stated that adolescents with high social anxiety levels tend to use technology more.
Studies have reported that there may be strong relationships between technology addiction and mental disorders. Depression is one of the most studied mental disorders related to technology addiction. It has been reported that there is a positive and significant relationship between depression and technology addiction and that technology addiction is quite high in those with depression. There are also studies showing that there is a significant relationship between attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder in adolescents and technology addiction. Quick responses from the Internet or accessing different activities at the same time with more than one window allows those with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder to easily reach the feeling of reward and get away from the feeling of boredom. Besides these; anxiety,
The screen times suggested by the Green Crescent, based on the Turkey Anti-Addiction (TBM) Training Program, are as follows:
0-3 years: It should be kept away from the screen as much as possible.
Ages 3-6: Maximum 20-30 minutes per day.
6-9 years: Maximum 40-50 minutes per day.
9-12 years: Maximum 60-70 minutes per day.
Ages 12+: Maximum total time per day is 120 minutes.
In the publication titled Digital Guide: Promoting Healthy Technology Use for Children, published in 2019 by the American Psychological Association, the recommended screen times and usages by age group are as follows:
Avoiding screen-based media other than video chat in children under 18 months,
Choosing quality programs for children between 18-24 months and watching these programs with their children by parents,
Choosing quality programs for children aged 2-5 and limited screen time to one hour a day,
Consistent limits of time devoted to media and media use for children aged 6 years and older.
Approaches to prevent addiction also require parent education; It is stated to be guiding parents to improve their communication skills with their children, encouraging healthy interaction in the family, helping parents gain skills on how to effectively deal with certain situations, and guiding the family to reduce maladaptive family behaviors.
Perhaps one of the prerequisites for community members to be healthy adults is to have healthy children and adolescents. The main targets in prevention studies are;
* Artistic activities such as cinema, theater, sports, nature, etc. for children and young people. Ensuring and motivating children and young people to shift to social environments rather than virtual environments by paying attention to the planning of activities and activities
* Organizing promotional campaigns (such as free screenings or discounts) in activities such as theater, cinema, or museum visits to expand activities such as youth camps, sports organizations, and cultural events and to ensure the participation of more young people, to increase cultural activities for children and young people.
* Planning group workshops and creating and enriching hobbies outside the virtual environment that will attract the attention of children and young people, develop their social skills and sense of belonging
* In this respect, it is important to inform children and young people to encourage the conscious and safe use of information technologies and to prevent excessive and harmful use.