The new generations, born at the end of the last century and the beginning of this one, are known as “Digital Natives”, because they were born in the digital era and are able to use a mobile phone, a tablet or a computer correctly, intuitively, without any prior knowledge. Currently, 77% of smartphone users suffer from nomophobia (an irrational fear of not having full access to their mobile phone at all times), and Spain is the country with the highest rate of teenage Internet addiction in Europe: 21.3% of Spanish teenagers are addicted to the Web, compared with the European average of 12.7%, according to the psycho-educational platform Desconect@. La Companyia Verda had the opportunity to attend the talk “Demasiada Pantalla”, given by psychologist and new-technology addiction expert Marc Masip, at Zürich Schule Barcelona. Drawing on his experience, especially with young people, he explained to us in a clear and effective way the emotional states we experience as a result of poor management and control of new technologies, and their consequences. Signs such as emotional changes, poor school performance, using the phone at odd hours, spending a lot of time in the bedroom or bathroom, and stress when without it, can help us detect misuse. An addiction pathologically seeks a reward or relief through a particular means. Low self-esteem, lack of acceptance, poor social skills, the search for new sensations, and poor management of frustration are all pathways that lead to “getting hooked”, which is why prevention becomes crucial for handling it well. The time we spend together as a family -encouraging dialogue-, screen time and its content, limits and rules -and teaching those limits by offering alternatives-, will help us avoid negative consequences in the future.
But at what age is it advisable to start using these tools? The human brain does not fully mature until the age of 24 on average, so ideally that would be the right time to start using them -once it is mature- but this is far from realistic. Social pressure and its promotion force us to stay connected in some way, which is why psychologists agree that the minimum age to start should be 16. Clearly, we are far from seeing measures taken at a political level; however, last July France passed a law banning the use of any electronic device, such as mobile phones, tablets or watches, in schools, from nursery through primary and secondary education -nine out of ten French children aged between 12 and 17 have a mobile phone-. This pioneering measure was prompted by poor school performance, lack of attention in class, lack of physical activity during breaks and of in-person socialising, exposure to violent and pornographic content, and bullying, all of which were visibly on the rise in schools. From an early age, girls and boys imitate our ways, habits and gestures, so are they really digital natives? No, but they will be our faithful reflection. Starting by being aware of who we have beside us and how much attention we pay them is already a good start. They have more than enough tools to learn, create their own worlds and develop in a healthy way – let’s not stand in their way.
Sources: https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/09/26/ciencia/1537960453_593059.html?fbclid=IwAR1Qdu4JFNB_62g3CdPPzr6ElSyxcyVIJpfPE2XN6LmhV2PoyeOtYWf-ip0/ https://www.programadesconecta.com/es//
