Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "The increase in violence in society is a global situation"

President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan evaluated the latest developments on the subject of "Violence and Bullying on Social Media Platforms" to Akit TV. Underlining that social media makes young people vulnerable to influence, Tarhan stated that good examples should be increased in society and family. Tarhan pointed out that as a result of the media's crude behavior, vulnerable and defenseless children were adversely affected.

"The increase in violence in society is a global situation"

Commenting on the recent events to AKİT TV microphones, Tarhan emphasized that violence among young people has increased. Tarhan stated that "The increase in violence in society is a global situation. Statistically, there is an increase in violent incidents among young people. In Türkiye, this increase was not that high, but it has started to rise in recent years. There are three important reasons for the increase in violence in society. We call these group stress. If there is group stress in a company, there are frequent arguments and anger incidents. For example, if one manager in that company keeps a group of people and the other excludes a group of people, if there is a bilateral relationship between them and the top management of the company cannot create a horizontal relationship, there is no trust there. When there is no trust, there is no peace. When there is no peace, there is anxiety about the future and arguments arise. In other words, a significant part of the violence in society is due to the lack of fair sharing. It has an effect that increases violence.”

"We need more projects that touch people"

Underlining that social media makes young people vulnerable to influence, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that good examples should increase in society and family. Tarhan stated that "People are seeing higher and unattainable examples right now. People have an excessive desire and expectation to achieve them. As one sees that those expectations are not realized, one becomes aggressive and this time turns into a rival to wealth, which is a step further than this. Another reason for violence is unhappiness and loneliness. When people do not feel happy, they turn to substances. A young person who uses addictive substances is especially impaired. It cannot do a profit-loss analysis. There are extreme acts of violence. They act without thinking about the end, and they are easily influenced. Social media also makes young people vulnerable to influence. There needs to be more good examples in society and in the family. In this regard, it is necessary to carry out projects that touch the soul. In other words, we need more projects that touch the soul and people, not projects that touch stone and soil. They need to be invested in, otherwise we are facing serious social decay and moral degeneration after a while."

"These three things need to be balanced"

Stating that only concrete culture should not be understood when it comes to culture, Tarhan drew attention to the importance of the spiritual dimension. Tarhan stated that "People have material savings, spiritual savings, and health for mental health. These three need to be balanced. Spiritual accumulations are values. Not lying, being honest, being hardworking, being sharing, not doing to others what you do not want to be done to you, changing ourselves instead of changing the world, all of these are in our spiritual knowledge, which is in our ancient teaching. When we say culture, we mean concrete culture. However, when you say culture, there is a meaning dimension and a spiritual dimension in the background. It should not be neglected. Investments in the spiritual field are very important here."

"If the family is a safe space, children will listen"

Stating that the family should be a safe space for children to listen to their words, Tarhan said that "There are reasons why you cannot talk to a child. If there is no joint decision-making mechanism in the family, if there is no democratic functioning in the family, the child will not listen. If there is criticism, where everyone does not have to agree, if there are non-totalitarian or imperious family approaches that do not impose their own opinions, the child will listen. The children of this time are not like the children of old. Older children come from a culture of 'do no ask, do not think, just obey'. In other words, they see asking questions as defiance. This time, children start to ask on social media. They are also misleading. If the family is a safe space, the children will listen. If the family is not a safe space, you cannot make children listen. For this reason, we need to do what we can to make it a safe and warm environment for the family. Parents should focus on this."

"Unfortunately, the media is being crude..."

Expressing that vulnerable and defenseless children are badly affected as a result of the media's crude behavior, Tarhan stated that "The media has an accelerating and facilitating effect. The vital food of the media is striking events and dramatic cases. It feels the need to take these cases and publish them because they are newsworthy. While doing this, the media needs to act with the feeling of not harming individuals. Unfortunately, the media is being crude about this. Children from broken families, who are most vulnerable because they behave rudely, and children become victims when their parents cannot communicate properly. Young people have become victims of modernism. In other words, if we had created our modernity in accordance with our own culture, they would have been much less. We have not created a modernism that is in line with our culture. However, if we could keep our own human values alive, children would not be able to oppose their parents and create a balance of freedom and responsibility in which they could contribute to the family."

"Children need dialogue, not monologue"

Tarhan gave important advice to parents and expressed that “Children need dialogue, not monologue. In other words, parents need to set a good example and be a companion. That does not mean to be casual. What makes you a companion? One has a purpose. They need to think about how to help on their way to the goal. Parents should focus on what they need to do for the good of the family. Do not focus on shaping your child like a sculpture. Make the house a safe space. If parents achieve that, the child can make a mistake or two, then realize their mistake and go back to home. Let the home be a sincere, warm and safe space. The biggest solution to this is to communicate positively. If there is positive communication in the family, if words of appreciation, praise and approval are used more, crime is not easily committed in that house, there is no violence."

Please click here for the video.

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)