An Evaluation on The Problem of Digital Addiction in Youth

Abstract

There are approximately 65.8 million internets, 60 million social media, and 77 million mobile users in Turkey. The usage time of digital media connected to the Internet is increasing gradually. According to the research, the time that young people use these channels during the Covid-19 pandemic period has doubled. Some young people who use digital media can neglect their responsibilities and develop wrong attitudes and behaviors in online environments. As a result of this, material and moral damage may also occur. For this reason, strategies should be determined on the correct, limited, and beneficial use of online and offline digital environments. The purpose of this article is to explain the causes of digital addiction caused by excessive use of digital media, the risks it poses to young people, and some precautions that can be taken by examining previous studies. The study is a compilation study. First of all, by scanning the literature, it is focused on what are the inevitable situations of digital addiction in digital environments. The causes of addiction along with problematic internet use are discussed. In addition to making life easier, digital media also provides information about the negative effects of academic failure, loss of self-esteem, stress, depression, and anxiety on young people. Then, intervention studies aimed at preventing, protecting against, and getting rid of digital addiction are mentioned, which support the limited, useful, and productive use of digital media, and also support digital addiction prevention. It is thought that this study will be a study that will be applied to those who serve in the field such as teachers, sociologists, psychologists, media, marketing, and engineers who research useful, limited, productive use of digital platforms, especially to academics who research digital addiction.