Internet, wifi, connections, meeting platforms, online learning: all of this suddenly entered our lives. How are we managing this change? Covid-19 forced many teens to stay locked in their houses, studying and seeing their friends only through the Internet, in front of a screen. Is that good or bad? Let's think about that together.
DIGITAL EDUCATION POVERTY
During the pandemic and with online learning, we discovered that the digital situation isn't equal for everyone. Some students didn't have a personal computer or a tablet at home, others didn't have a connection. In modern society, digital skills and the possibility for growth that a connection can give are fundamental.
Digital education poverty is a problem that also exists in the most developed countries: it often comes from the inability to have the right technology and equipment. This creates gross inequalities. Save the Children, along with schools, has created a project to fight against this. In fact, digital education poverty block personal growth, self-development and understanding of the world.
THE ADVANTAGES OF A CONNECTION
Young people can learn and appreciate many different points of view and ways to see the world from social media and their internet connection. They can communicate online, prepare for future work opportunities, communicate with friends and relatives, especially if they are far away, and with those who have common interests and ideas. Also, they can eliminate borders and build fun and creative collaborations. According to some scholars, hyper-connection is a new reality and a right. Young people only want to communicate in a new way, create social networks and build their own identities. The digital native generation, in fact, is always immersed in an interactive environment and we have to understand that this environment stimulate learning even if it is a different way from what we are used to.
YOUNG PEOPLE AGAINST ADULTS
Young people say that social media allow people to do what they want, that they entertain them and make them happy. Parents think that they make their children spend more time alone. Instead, sometimes, they are actually a way to help them have more friendships and feel less alone. Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok: all of these platforms are very popular with young adults. They use them to connect with others and these platforms represent an important part of their social and creative lives.
THE MONTH OF SAFE INTERNET
HOW DIGITAL MEDIA TURNED US ALL INTO DOPAMINE ADDICTS
The famous newspaper The Guardian explains that social network addiction makes us become slaves to dopamine. What's that? It is a neurotransmitter that regulates our desires: some people are not able to read calmly in front of a screen but have to continually scroll down, check their smartphone or the number of likes they receive.
THE DISADVANTAGES OF HYPER-CONNECTION
Besides real addiction to the internet and technology, other forms of hyper-connection disorders exist, for example, vamping, which is the habit of staying up all night to chat, check your social network, comment or post photos and stories, or play online, or like addiction, the desire ot have favourable judgements in the social media world. Nomofobia is the tendency to always check your notifications, while the syndrome of Hikikomori isolates some young adults in the world.
(article from the magazine A Tot of English, issue 3, 2023)
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