Youth fall into clutches of digital dependency

Digital dependency occurs when individuals spend their time with tablets, smartphones and computers and lead an unhappy, hopeless, antisocial and immobile lives, especially those aged 13-24.

Digital Dependency Fighters Association Chairman associate professor Tuncay Dilci said that digital dependency has caused serious problems recently. Dilci describes this dependency as the disordered use of digital objects.

Individuals that have too much contact with digital objects become antisocial, creating a follower culture of plans and programs produced by others in the virtual environment. Dilci said that these people's ideas are also vulnerable to participation in this follower culture. They always follow each other over objects.

People with digital dependency develop a spiral of silence. They turn in on themselves and gradually become alienated from themselves and others. As emotional expression decreases due to the lack of self-confidence, there is no direct communication with real people in the virtual environment, as shy, timid people with low self-esteem can also be worried by or pushed away by real life.

In Turkey, 55-57 percent of youths aged 13-24 are on the verge of digital dependency, which can be observed in both children and adults. Some 11-13 percent of people have a digital dependency, however, it is intense in the youth.

Children's interaction with the digital world should not exceed half an hour, while adults should be limited to 1-1.5 hours maximum. It's much better if these periods are used at intervals. The reason for digital dependency is the historical era we live in. We live in the digital period where technology is at the apex of most societies. New generations are born into the digital age and see their parents as role models while discovering the world.

Psychosocial factors also cause digital dependency. People do not go out much; children are trapped in houses, as families cannot trust the streets. People have abandoned natural ways and organic life. Mobile phones and computers are used as tools to silence and amuse children who become lonely and turn to digital objects. Children of divorced parents use digital objects as a shelter.

Dilci noted that digital dependency is the plague of the age, leading to psychological problems. "It can affect muscle development in children. For adults, some problems in blood circulation and obesity come with an immobile life. An immobile life can cause an embolism - clotting. Since these individuals cannot get enough oxygen, their thoughts can become shallow. These people do not talk to anyone. It may cause a vicious thought cycle in their inner world," he said.