We see that the internet has become widespread rapidly after it has entered our lives, the most important reasons for this are that we solve many things we need to do via the internet and there are many activities we can do by looking for pleasure at the internet. It has been shown in many scientific studies that especially playing games on the Internet and using intense social media can create problems in our lives.
For these reasons, using the internet for a purpose and limiting the internet usage time means preventing many problems that the internet will create.
In particular, the insufficient development of self-control of children and adolescents, their insufficient awareness of the problems that the internet will cause, the fact that they can easily leave themselves to the pleasurable effects of games and social media cause them to experience frequent problems with the internet.
Intensive screen exposure and intensive use of the internet in children and adolescents cause problems in various areas, especially in the development of communication skills and social skills.
Screen exposure in infancy; It negatively affects the child’s ability to make eye contact in accordance with his age, to look and react appropriately when called, and to language development. For this reason, we do not recommend the use of phones and tablets for children up to 3 years old. From the age of 3 to school age, they can watch cartoons suitable for their age for 45 minutes a day.
We can allow children to use computers and tablets for an average of 1 hour a day from the age of 6 until adolescence and 1.5 hours a day on average after adolescence. What we need to pay attention to here is that we know what they are doing on the internet and that we filter the sites we think are harmful.
It has been shown in many scientific studies that the use of the Internet in childhood, over the specified hours, impairs both physical and spiritual development of children. Physically it causes eye disorders, joint and muscle disorders; It is stated that it impairs their social development psychologically and negatively affects their attention and course success.
When internet use in children and adolescents exceeds 5 hours, it is necessary to take the negative effects seriously and to seek help from a specialist.
Some children and adolescents have mental illnesses that cause internet addiction. Chief among these are “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Depression, Social Anxiety Disorder and Substance Addiction”. For this reason, in cases where the family cannot prevent the child’s excessive use of the Internet, it would be appropriate to avoid violent discussions and seek help from a child and adolescent psychiatrist.
Treatment of Internet Addiction:
Our goal should be controlled internet use instead of giving up the internet completely. When meeting with children and adolescents, it is very important to make them aware of their situation and motivate them to limit their use of the Internet. It is necessary to act together with the family and to prepare a contract by taking the child’s opinion. It is necessary to support the social development of the child and to determine the activities that he can do together.
When necessary, therapy and drug options should also be considered in the treatment.
What parents should do:
First, put the computer in an open area where the screen can be seen and add an internet filter,
Be a good example of using the Internet,
Keep track of what he is doing on the Internet and inform him,
Contract .
How should families approach young people?
Evaluate the situation: How long does your child spend in front of the computer, how does he spend his time, what are the pros and cons in family relations?, how does he spend his spare time?
Have a truce: This task is yours, because the adolescent can always risk the war. You take the first step.
Spend time together and talk about other things: Pay attention to the child’s interests and talk uncritically about what he is doing on the computer.
Raise awareness: Make a note of how long you’ve been online.
Select the control method: Decide together whether the time limit will be weekly, daily, or how many hours.
Don’t focus on it and don’t compete: live your life instead of giving it your full attention.
Build a common front: It is very important that both parents take the situation seriously and act together.
Contract and define their responsibilities: Clearly define how much time they will spend online, what they will do, and follow these rules.
Force when necessary: Uninstalling the computer, disconnecting the internet should be the last option. Decide together when to use it again.
Support his psychosocial development: discovering a favorite sport or artistic activity, allowing him to spend time with his friends; It will help you socialize.
