Nervous poke: why rils can harm children's psyche
Every third child in Russia shows signs of "digital neurosis", which is how experts call the consequences of gadget addiction. Immersed in virtual reality, children become irritable, aggressive, drop out of school, and are unable to digest large amounts of information, preferring short videos - rils and shorts. "Izvestia" analyzed whether the situation can be corrected and how to direct interest in "digital" in the right direction.
What are the dangers of computer games?
The term "digital neurosis" is not in the International Classification of Diseases. It gained popularity thanks to the social project "Future. Children", implemented by the Autonomous Nonprofit Organization "Digital Platforms". Specialists are already using the apt expression to denote a set of negative consequences of digital addictions. Parents' concern is evidence of how acute the problem of gadget addiction is: the project organizers received more than 5.3 thousand questions and complaints related to gadget addictions of children and teenagers.
The researchers conducted online and offline events, which covered a total of 15.9 thousand participants. The experts compared the data of the sample size with the number of children in the country and extrapolated and concluded that every third child in Russia between the ages of 6 and 18 experiences the side effects of social gaming platforms, lifestyle social networks and video hosting. By the way, according to Rosstat data for 2020, there are more than 32 million children and teenagers under the age of 18 living in Russia.
The study found that children between the ages of 6 and 10 are most susceptible to the side effects of digital consumption. Families complain of irritability, aggression, attention deficit, decreased academic performance, social involvement, and narrowed interests in life, which were not present before the active use of gadgets.
- Before us we have a whole set of problems affecting children's psyche. In particular, it's the swipe, shorts thinking, when a child loses interest in everything that does not cause strong emotions and does not fit into a 30-second riles. We are also talking about games - simulators of life without physical, moral and other boundaries, in comparison with which reality seems boring. Network media albums with the pursuit of unattainable ideals, which form in the child exaggerated requirements and expectations of himself and his environment, and a sense of inferiority, are also a problem," comments Arseny Scheltsin, Director General of the Autonomous Nonprofit Organization "Digital Platforms".
Swipe (from English to swype - "to swipe without pulling away; to slide") - a long sliding movement of a finger across the display of a mobile device.
Reels - a format of short vertical videos that last from 15 to 90 seconds.
How to get rid of digital addiction
According to Arseny Scheltsin, experts do not call for the rejection of digital entertainment and consumption, especially in the mode of instant ban. Not only that, it will only cause the opposite effect. From the experts' point of view, it is necessary to use technology in a balanced way - it is important to show the child that digital creativity can be more exciting. The research has provided an opportunity to study the problems and search for scientifically sound and socially acceptable solutions.
- So far, the first set of recommendations for reducing the effects of digital associated addictions have been developed. The most effective method is to replace harmful digital habits with useful purposeful activities," explained Arseniy Scheltsin.
Experts also believe that moms and dads should be made aware of the importance of this alternative. It is parents who are sometimes involved in the fact that children plunge headlong into the world of illusions. Busy adults use games and videos as a "digital nanny". Parents at first do not think about the fact that kids and teenagers quickly immerse themselves in virtual reality and can no longer imagine life without it. However, the situation can be remedied.
- If new games, videos and social networks have already become a part of life, it is necessary to gradually give them an alternative in the form of developing digital services, educational programs for the development of real skills. For example, design, editing, programming, 3D-projecting, robotics, learning foreign languages and other skills, many of which have a game element," says Arseniy Scheltsin.
With the help of developmental services a teenager can realize his creative and research potential and at the same time be socially active, even create teams and work in them in the context of hobbies, the organization stressed.
Dyslexia and dysgraphia
School teachers have long been talking about the fact that the problem is overdue and needs to be addressed. They see the negative effect of digitalization like no one else. Inna Bogoroditskaya, a philologist, teacher of Russian language and literature, speech therapist and psychologist, notes the steady growth of children's speech problems.
- Diagnoses such as "dysgraphia" and "dyslexia", which were not even familiar to most teachers until recently, are becoming more and more common. Elementary school teachers note that about every sixth pupil in the class cannot fulfill a simple instruction. There is a feeling that children do not always understand the spoken language, and this complicates the process of learning and communication," says Inna Bogoroditskaya.
Teachers consider such problems as consequences of "digital childhood". The situation is complicated by the fact that digital addiction is a completely new problem, and there is no experience in dealing with it yet.
- I am sure that it is Russian classical literature, if it is introduced to children wisely and correctly, can become a fascinating activity for them," says Inna Bogoroditskaya.
According to the teacher, work with literary texts, demonstration of excerpts from movie screenings, discussions, debates, reviews will become quite relevant activities for modern children. Her interlocutor stipulates that this will require more time for the teacher, but the result is worth it.
It is not so much about reading as such, but about a program of art-rehabilitation of children. Bogoroditskaya considers the creation of computer games featuring characters from classic Russian and foreign literature to be particularly relevant.
- Past and present, opportunities to try on the way of life and peculiarities of generations distant for a modern child would contribute to the development of creative abilities and thought processes, - emphasizes the teacher.
Anime and Star Wars
Alexei Vilkov, a psychiatrist and psychologist, considers "digital neurosis" to bea private variant of such a widely known social concept as "information neurosis". In any case, both problems manifest themselves in the same way. They are characterized by anxiety, emotional instability, cognitive decline, and sleep disturbance.
- "Information neurosis" appears if a person is overloaded with various information, most often stressogenic, unnecessary and harmful to the psyche, - says Alexei Vilkov. - The user is constantly flipping through the news feed, watching TV or reading newspapers in anticipation of some bad events and global news. This overloads the nervous system, which eventually leads to increased anxiety, stress and other manifestations.
According to the psychiatrist, it makes sense to talk about "digital neurosis" when it comes to long-term and regular receipt of information from smartphone or computer screens. And it can be earned not only by absorbing frightening information.
- It can be "harmless" entertaining and even meaningless content. But it constantly affects the user, creates additional activation of the brain, prevents you from resting, relaxing, being alone with your thoughts. In this case, productivity in terms of normal activities - work and study - is reduced," comments Vilkov.
The center of visual information processing is the occipital lobe of the brain, which occupies up to a quarter of the total volume of our main organ. This is where the very video content, which is consumed by the leisure time of modern schoolchildren and their parents, is received. According to Sergey Savelyev, Doctor of Biological Sciences, head of the Laboratory of the Nervous System of the Research Institute of Human Morphology, it is favorable for the brain to perceive simplified, uniform information, and not to engage in the thought process. Mental activity requires energy expenditure, and entertainment content contributes to the formation of endogenous (internal) substances inside neurons - cannabinoids and opioids, which help a person to get pleasure and improve mood. These substances are particularly active in the brains of children and adolescents. Therefore, at every opportunity minors "escape" into the world of illusions, replacing books and textbooks by watching videos.
According to Savelyev, any change of picture is attractive for our brain also because it does not know what kind of visual information it can use.
- Why are anime cartoons and Star Wars movies, for example, so popular? Because they depict new graphic constructions, which a person has never met in his life. The brain readily perceives this unusual information, concluding that it may be useful to him, - comments Saveliev.
Thus, long-term memory stores are clogged with unnecessary information, and really important information does not have time to be fixed.
The expert believes that endless viewing of short videos is liked by users because it serves as a safe imitation of life. Viewers can watch a boa constrictor eating a rabbit, motorcycle racers flipping through the air at full speed, and giant waves slamming into embankments without risk. Videos of gift unwrapping and outfit changes fill people's gray everyday lives with events they themselves cannot boast of. The professor calls such video gum an imitation of life, in which a person immerses himself if nothing happens in his own. To get rid of the habit of watching everything, intellectual effort is required - the brain must be loaded with work so that it does not get lazy , the scientist emphasizes.
