Technology, which has become an indispensable part of life, and especially mobile phones, can have negative psychological effects on high school and middle school students. The research conducted on students has made some facts seem better. The most striking rate is the high number of students at risk of internet addiction and gaming addiction.
The BTK Safe Internet Center shared the results of its research on determining the digital game playing habits of middle and high school students in Turkey on the website www.guvenliweb.org. The research was conducted in collaboration with the Information Technologies and Communication Authority Safe Internet Center and Muş Alparslan University. The research was conducted by the Vice President of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority Dr. Abdulkerim Gün.
MORE THAN 20 THOUSAND STUDENTS WERE OBSERVED
A total of 20,384 students participated in the study, 11,891 of whom were middle school students and 8,493 of whom were high school students. The study examined students’ digital game addiction, internet addiction, social media addiction, happiness, cyberbullying, distress-stress, and loneliness.
3 HOURS OF GAMING A DAY
The research has yielded many striking results. According to the research, 95.49% of students have a mobile phone and play digital games for nearly three hours on weekdays.
THE RISK OF GAME ADDICTION IS VERY HIGH
Another important result that stood out in the research was that 35% of high school and middle school students are at risk of game addiction. Similarly, 31% of high school students and 20% of middle school students were determined to be at risk of internet addiction.
As a result of the research, important findings were reached regarding the increasing social media addiction today. The research stated that 50% of high school students and 35% of middle school students are at risk of social media addiction, and that a quarter of high school students have a low level of happiness due to technological factors.
CYBER BULLYING RATE
Another result of the research was that with the increase in internet usage, 10% of the students were exposed to moderate level cyberbullying, while high level cyberbullying was rarely seen.
‘LONELINESS’ IS INCREASING
In the study, which stated that the feeling of loneliness is common among middle school and high school students, it was determined that the level of distress encountered in high school students is higher than in middle school students.