Digital suffocation

Young people threatened by social networks and Internet

Expert in youth education explains, from his daily experience, how to improve mental
health in a world of screens.

I have been working as a teacher for almost 20 years and have noticed that, in the last 10
years, children and young people experience more frequently mental health problems, writes
Josemaria (Chema) Camean, director of the Old Town College High School.

Is there a way to explain the increase in mental health problems in young people so that we
could help them avoid or cope with these symptoms?

Perhaps one of the answers -certainly not the only one- lies in the “encapsulation” of young
people and their families, fueled by the inundation of information technologies, the side
effects of which seem worrying.

Internet use, life in social networks, screen time, online addiction, mental health and family
life are important topics that I study and discuss at school with my students. Recently, I asked
them about Internet use and the answers were somewhat worrying: “Our parents don’t
realize how much time we spend on our phones and how strong the addiction can be: we lose
our ability to communicate in real life.”

According to the EU Kids Online survey (2018), 28% of Estonian young respondents said
they spend around 4-5 hours online during school days. On their days off, they spend online
even more time.
“There is something in our lives that parents often don’t understand. They don’t always fully
understand the level of violence and self-esteem issues involved in online life,” wrote one of
my students. But do we actually understand that?

No age limit to Internet use?

Young people themselves bring this issue to our attention, as when they wrote to me at
school, “The sooner you give a child access to the Internet, to smartphones, the sooner their
world will be turned upside down.” “They’re entering a world they’re not ready for!”
Sean Parker, former president of Facebook, recently admitted that social networks are
deliberately designed to exploit vulnerability in human psychology. He explained that, in
order to our attention, it is necessary to get our brains to release some amount of dopamine
regularly enough, through “likes” or comments on a photo or just a new post. In other words,
it’s a business model built on addiction. And to our concern, he replied that only God knows
what it does to our children’s brains.
But, only God knows what Internet does?
Much research has already been done on the dangerous effects of early and/or excessive use
of smart devices on children’s development, concentration, memory, intellectual capacity,
desire and ability to communicate, self-control, control of emotions: the pillars of human
structure.

In a conversation about human relationships, Hanna asked me, “Chema, what happens in my
family that when we are in front of the television, on the computer or on the phone, we get
angry so easily?” “At home, no one asks me how I’m doing, because I have maximum grades
on my electronic grade´s sheet. But I am very unhappy.”

The breakdown of the marital bond or relationship poses the deepest damage to the
heart of a child or young person.

Family relationships are, without a doubt, an indispensable foundation for the development
of a child’s or adolescent’s personality, conscience, affectivity, sociability, character; they are
also necessary for academic success and inner peace; in short, for a happy life. Can we look
at ourselves in the mirror and say, with certainty, that the time we spend in front of screens is
not damaging our family relationships? Or is it that gadgets and social networks
have hijacked our family? More screens, less dialogue. Less dialogue, less eyes for others and
less understanding.
– “Hannes, do your parents get along?”

– “Well, let’s just say… they don’t get along much. They are always on their computer or on
their phone, in their own world. At least they don’t fight.”

We encapsulate ourselves in a digital word. And that doesn’t do us any good.

Working with young people for 20 years has confirmed for me, in practice, what used to be
theory. The rupture of a marital and family bond or relationship causes the most profound
wound to the heart of a child or teenager. We can try to anesthetize this pain. But do we
solve it that way? What if, instead, we consider renewing, strengthening, preserving marital
and family ties? Because practice has also confirmed that, despite problems, accidents and
mistakes, everything is fine with children as long as everything is fine between mom and dad!
But that’s another topic, although closely related to the digital avalanche and suffocation.
Kids need support and understanding in digital technology and in life.
Language makes us human. To develop verbal skills, a child doesn’t need videos or mobile
apps, but simply to be talked to, to be asked to pronounce words, to be encouraged to name
objects and organize his or her responses; to be told stories and also invited to read.
Psychological research has shown that learning in personal contact is 50% more effective
than learning through the screen. Children need to be talked to. Young people need to be
listened to. So do adults and the elderly.
Concentration. Without the capacity to concentrate, it is impossible to structure thoughts
around an object. The ability to concentrate, that is, to focus the mind and senses on an
object, allows us to explore, understand, relate, reflect, ponder, create and also pray. Experts
in the field of computer science and computer culture, such as Cal Newport, known for his
books and lectures, warn us that excessive consumption of audiovisual content, and in
particular life on social networks (Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, etc.), reduce our
ability to concentrate and maintain attention on a single activity. Consequently, they reduce
our ability to understand, create, observe, reflect, etc.

Health and sleep. We are witnessing today a generation of “badly sleeping” children and
young people. Screens are not responsible for sedentary lifestyles or lack of quality sleep. It
is true, they foster it. But the responsibility lies with us, the adults. The problem is that, as we
know, we do not sleep just to rest. We sleep because there are tasks that our brain cannot
undertake when we are active. Sleep is necessary so that the brain can devote itself to
organizing and root our knowledge and skills, to do “the maintenance work”.
Many will claim that the time spent on information technologies and social networks has
made today’s children “faster, able to multitask, moving nimbly from one thing to another.”
However, has the human brain evolved so fast and has it been already demonstrated? And
what do research tell us?

The activities for which children use the Internet have changed somewhat over time. While in
2010, 85% of Estonian children used the Internet mainly for homework, in 2018, 67% used it
for that purpose, at least once a week. Entertainment activities have become more important
for kids: watching videos, listening to music, etc.

To witness, that it is precisely big computer companies who try to convince us of this
“potential and usefulness”, arouse many questions in us. Or who do organize those
smartphone campaigns at Christmas and the beginning of each school year? Sates are also an
excellent market for these companies, with their belief –or pretending to believe- that
smartphones, tablets and smart screens in the classrooms will make the educational
revolution.

Andreas Schleicher, the father of the PISA tests, has said, “Ensuring that all children acquire
knowledge of basic language and mathematics seems far more useful, in creating equal
conditions in our digital world, than expanding access to, and funding, high-tech devices and
services.” Technology is useful, necessary – no doubt! But first and foremost essential,
indispensable, are committed parents; well-prepared and well-paid teachers, who inspire
with their competence and example; decent classrooms and buildings that “pull up”. This is
where the educational revolution begins
“We need your example!”

What would you want your parents to know? “Don’t constantly accuse us of being on our
phones or computers too much! We know it’s not right. We don’t like our addiction. But we
can’t overcome it alone, the pressure is too strong.” Almost half of Estonian children have
tried to spend less time on the Internet, but say they can’t do it. Twelve percent of the
children face this problem at least once a week. However, the majority tries less often.
The kids’ call sums it up in one sentence: “We need your example!”.
It’s worth stopping for a moment to think about our children’s and teen´s use of smart devices
– and screens -, access to networks, time spent online, life on social media… It is also worth
thinking on everything that remains undone, undiscovered, unrealized, when we drown and
suffocate in the digital world.
But, as in everything, we need to start with ourselves. Let’s inspire children and teens with
our example! Let young people see that it is worth living the real life! With little, or big
effort. With understanding and patience. Let us gradually fill our time with valuable
activities that we may have lost because of the computer, the TV and the telephone. We will
be more able to talk, discuss, apologize, sleep, play sports, play an instrument, draw, paint,
dance, sing, go to theater classes and, of course… to read! And able to experience one of
the best things in life: we are not alone!

Josemaría (Chema) Camean, Principal of the Gymnasium of the Old Town College of
Education (Tallin, Estonia).

Original article in Estonian