Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "A person who has a purpose in life does not fall into the trap of the Internet"

President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan discussed the subject of "Screen Addiction" in the program "Door to Mind with Prof. Nevzat Tarhan" broadcast on Dost TV and Dost FM. Pointing out that the main symptom in the diagnosis of addiction is loss of control, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that "Screen addiction disrupts the reward system in the brain. A person who has a purpose and plans the day can protect themselves from the social media trap and screen exposure."

"Focusing on one point and detaching from the realities of the world is a hypnotic state"

Giving an example from the clip syndrome case, President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that "A child came in with a complaint of delayed speech. Delayed speech might indicate autism. We thought the child had autism. We examined and found out that the child's fine motor and gross motor development is very good. He has good mathematical intelligence. There is a delay in his speech. When we investigated why this was the case, he was watching that the child watched television all day. At that time, there were no mobile phones; however, there was television. He was watching music channels all day. He was watching videos, he was watching song channels, and he was listening to them. He did not have to speak and to produce words; therefore, he just watched. The mother used the remote control as the cheap babysitter. The child ate during watching television and time passed. Since did not have to speak, the area of the brain that produces words was atrophied. The child spends time at that moment. He becomes hypnotized, fascinated and immersed. It is hypnotic to focus on one point and disconnect from the realities of the world."

It is planted as a seed, and it grows at an advanced age...

Stating that life scenarios are learned at a young age and these scenarios are experienced at an older age, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan expressed that “When screen exposure is overdosed, children do not learn anything else. For children to learn, all five senses must work. In addition to the five senses, children need to learn by experiencing. Children should learn by disassembling, playing, and living. Life scenarios are learned at a young age. People live these learned life scenarios at an older age. Not only narratives and stories, but also experiences are permanent in children. Thus, what children experienced with their elders, what children experienced with their friends, what children experienced while playing, disassembling and assembling are embedded in their developing minds. It is planted as a seed and grows at an advanced age. That is why the time children spend with their parents is essential. It is not important that your parents give advice; however, the events they live with and the stories they live together are very important..."

"Screen exposure exceeding 20 hours a week harms the child"

Stating that abstract thinking skill is a function of the anterior region of the brain, Prof. Tarhan experienced that "Screen exposure exceeding 20 hours a week harms the child. The child must be under parental supervision until the age of school age. Reality, abstract thinking and conceptual thinking appear in the child at the age of 6-7 years. A perception of reality is formed. Before that, children confuse fantasy with reality. For example, if a child is watching a video alone, it will be like monsters are coming at the child in the video. The child thinks it is real. If red color is reflected from there, the child thinks that my hand is bleeding. Because at that time, they could not distinguish between fantasy and reality. At the age of 6-7, their brain learns the reality test. Until then, there is concrete thinking. If the child is very smart, abstract thinking begins before the age of 6-7. The ability to think abstractly, the function of the frontal region of the brain. Emotional intelligence, social intelligence and mathematical intelligence work together. Some children learn more quickly while some children learn slowly. It is very much linked to social and emotional intelligence."

"Digital is not an end for us, it is a tool"

Pointing out that Türkiye's screen exposure is at a record level, Tarhan stated that "Our country is the country that has broken the record in screen exposure in the world. An average of 3 hours a day in the world. It takes 7 hours in Türkiye. Let alone children, this rate is seen even in adults. There is too much screen exposure. Right now, if you give children a screen from a young age and raise them, those children become autistic. They are not able to sit down and chat with someone, and they are not able to relate to the opposite sex. In other words, digital is not an end for us, but a tool. Technology itself is neutral. If we use it for our own purposes, it will serve us, but if it governs us, then you will be used. There is popular culture and digital imperialism right now. It is going towards..."

"Screen addiction disrupts the reward system in the brain"

Pointing out that the main symptom in the diagnosis of addiction is loss of control, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that "If it disrupts the control of a person's daily life and daily life production, that person is addicted. Screen addiction disrupts the reward system in the brain. Since the screen is a very rewarding environment, the ever-changing pleasure can reach all kinds of pleasures. It is very convenient, 24/7 available, and very useful practical environment. 20 years ago, it was recommended not to put them in the bedroom because of radiation when televisions first came out. Right now, there are cell phones in the bed. One looks like they are reading a book, but they have a cell phone in their hand. It is like a limb. It is not a strange thing to have. It makes life easier and faster. There are also some useful aspects. It has made life tremendously easy. In adults, the most important thing is the goal. A person who has a purpose when one gets up in the morning, and a person who plans the day can protect themselves from the social media trap and screen exposure. This is what we call media literacy. A person with media literacy uses a smartphone, tablet or computer when they need it. They do not use it when they do not need it.”

"A person with a purpose in life does not fall into the trap of the Internet"

Stating that the person should determine their own path strategically, Tarhan expressed that "Right now, modernism is telling us to live in the present. If a person draws a path for themselves without thinking strategically, events will lead them where they want. 'What is going to happen in 3 years? What is going to happen in 5 years, or 10 years?' Imagine a ship that has left the harbor. It has no directions. The wind takes it away, but if the captain has a compass, if he knows where to go, the wind helps him. A person like the captain, who has a purpose in life, does not fall into the trap of the Internet. They do not fall into screen exposure or digital dependence. The way to get rid of digital addiction is to plan the day, plan for the future, and live a meaningful life. Anyone who does this should not be afraid. Let them take it and use it according to their goal."

The stony roads of this time are the Internet...

Referring to the importance of telling the truth in the digital world, Tarhan stated that "The stony roads of this time are the Internet. If you have a cause, if you have an ideal, if you care about what you have done for this truth and tawhid when you go before Allah, if you say that Allah will ask me, the best place to express this is the Internet, the digital space. People in America is reading. In the Gaza events, the fact that that grandfather, his grandson in his arms, his turban on his head, kissed that child with great wisdom and great surrender, said goodbye, that comfort, the fact that he was not afraid of death, and that he knew that he would meet in the future, walked all over the Islamophobia all over the world. A lot of meetings were held, and a lot of books were written about Islamophobia. None of them are that effective. That man shattered the image of the Islamophobic turban robe on his head. He did it digitally. It is necessary to tell the truth here. If we have such a problem, social media becomes a tool. That is why this is an important method for us adults, for people who believe, how we want to be remembered when we come to the end of our lives, what kind of person we want to be, let us use social media for that purpose."

"The family environment should be stable, consistent and continuous"

Mentioning that children cannot manage themselves in the face of inconsistent discipline of parents, Tarhan concluded his remarks as follows: "The family environment should be stable, consistent and continuous. If there is such discipline, if there is a consistent family environment, the child can use the phone consciously. Therefore, if we become conscious parents, the child also learns to consciously manage his time management, impulses and desires. If the parents say one thing in the morning and another in the evening, there is inconsistent discipline. When there is inconsistent discipline, the child does not learn anything. The child only learns about indiscipline and irregularity. Life should be an environment with home rules. The child turns to whichever one they like. As such, there is no template in the child's mind. Our brain learns with the template method, and it learns with the modular system. It categorizes them as important jobs, less important jobs, and unimportant jobs. For example, when we get information into our brain, when we see a chair, you say that this chair is four-legged. When you see a three-legged chair, you do not put that chair in the chair file in your brain, the brain opens a chair file with a broken leg. It saves it there, remembers it from there. The brain has such a learning model, it is necessary to teach accordingly."

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)