For your mental health, step away from your phone for a while
Especially in recent years, with the advancement of digital technology, many things from television to radio, from computers to navigation, from shopping to choosing a restaurant have been put on cell phones, making life much easier. However, the transformation of this convenience into addiction brings mental and physical problems in individuals and societies. Experts emphasize the importance of staying away from social media and digital technologies and draw attention to the danger that social media poses to family and friendship relationships.
Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital Psychiatry Specialist Dr. Mahir Yeşildal made important evaluations about social media addiction and digital detox.
Specialized. Dr. Mahir Yelişdal stated that there is now a form of addiction in the form of 'Social Media' or 'Digital World Addiction',
"As you know, the first thing people do when they wake up in the morning is to look at their cell phones. The last thing they do before going to sleep is to look at their phones, when they wake up at night to drink water, they look at their cell phones. When they go to the toilet, they go with their cell phones. Shopping malls, cafes, people waiting at red lights on the road, waiting in traffic, drivers, people walking on the road... Everyone walks with a slight hunchback looking at the screen in front of them. What kind of complication are we talking about here? Two types of human models have increased a lot with this transformation."
"Social" media raises "asocial" people
Noting that applications with the name 'social media' have started to raise asocial people, Uzm. Dr. Mahir Yeşildal continued his words as follows:
"The person actually has no friends, no friends. There is no one they eat out with, go to a match with, go to a concert with. But they have 'friends' on social media. This causes asocialization.
"We can start a backward evolution process"
Because the human relationship is something that develops and takes place especially through mirror neurons. This is the basis of human evolution. If this continues, it seems that we will lose our mirror neurons and start a backward evolutionary process.
Narcissistic and lonely people emerge
Another type of person is the narcissistic person. What do these people do? They take 10-20 photos in the same place and share the most beautiful photo among them. He may have spent the evening with a breakfast, but if he has a nice meal, he definitely takes a picture of it and shares it with his friends on social media. Normally, he doesn't actually leave the house, he doesn't go anywhere; but let's say he shares a selfie while passing through the Bosphorus. In this way, he is constantly trying to increase the number of likes and likes, and it is a picture that feeds narcissism; therefore, narcissistic and lonely people emerge.
Social media leads to depression!
There is also a third group that follows them. They say, 'These friends go to such nice places, eat such nice food, have such nice girlfriends and boyfriends. Look, I have nothing' and they get depressed."
"We need to know how to stay away from digital technologies"
"We need to be able to stay away from social media and digital technologies," said Psychiatry Specialist Dr. Mahir Yeşildal,
"Because with every notification here, there is a release of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is one of the main neurotransmitters of our brain. But if we cannot ensure its proper secretion, it can bring many problems from addictions to behavioral problems. If a person shares a photo and notifications about it are turned on with every like they receive, they are feeding that dopamine secretion little by little. At some point, this lowers the threshold of pleasure and a cycle of addiction emerges, just like alcohol or drug addiction. We need to break this cycle somewhere. Social media is not an object of addiction like alcohol or drugs, but it contains this potential. Therefore, we need to use it properly," he warned.
How should the correct use be?
Yeşildal said, "What I will recommend is not a hostility to technology; on the contrary, it is an effort not to be captive to technology, but how we can use technology better in our favor" and made the following suggestions for social media and technology detox:
- "Everyone should buy an alarm clock, set their alarm clocks and learn to wake up to it. We need to learn to wake up with an alarm clock and we need to take a few steps back.
-Unless the person is doing a very urgent job, the cell phone should definitely be outside the bedroom, because exposure to blue light before going to sleep suppresses melatonin secretion and seriously impairs sleep quality.
-We need to regain the habit of looking at the time on a wristwatch, not on a screen. Why? Because when we pick up the phone to look at the time, we see social media notifications there and immediately open social media. I recommend buying a wristwatch to prevent this.
-It is necessary to give up the habit of going to the toilet with a cell phone. It is not hygienic and it is not a place to watch TV series. You should not take your cell phone to the toilet.
-When coming home, I recommend that everyone from 7 to 70 should keep their cell phones in a common area with all notifications turned off. It is very important to have phones together in a common area. Why is it important? One of the important reasons for divorces today is social media applications.
-I suggest that you turn off all your social media applications on certain days of the month or week, or even turn off your cell phone if possible."
As you move away from social media, you will get closer to your loved ones
Emphasizing that an addiction will be prevented by applying these substances, Uzm. Dr. Mahir Yeşildal,
"You are sitting at home, your cell phone is on the table, what are you going to do? You will ask your spouse, your child how their day was. Therefore, this will increase relations within the family. Or you are sitting with your friend, cell phones are on the table, not in your hand. You will chat with him/her. The brain gets used to some things in a period between 3 weeks and 6 months. Doing a 21-day social media detox may not be very practical; but I think that turning off your phones on Sundays, Saturday evening and turning them off until Monday morning will make a great contribution to you and your daily life."
2-year-old's opening cartoons is a sign of neglect, not intelligence
Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital Psychiatry Specialist Dr. Mahir Yeşildal said, "While the most important factor affecting a student's academic success used to be his circle of friends, now it is the time he spends on social media" and concluded his words as follows:
"The fact that a 2-3 year old child is very busy with technology, opening and watching the cartoon he/she wants, does not show that the child is smart. On the contrary, it shows that the child is neglected and neglected, and we know that children who are neglected as children face many psychiatric problems when they grow up."
