The “Change Starts with Me - Social Media Awareness Project” is being implemented in cooperation with Üsküdar Üniversitesi, Üsküdar District Governorate, and Üsküdar District Directorate of National Education. The protocol signing ceremony for the project, which aims to equip 1,500 high school students in Üsküdar with social media literacy skills, has been held. Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, emphasized that children, adolescents, and young people must be taught conscious social media use.
Stating that the project aims for young people to be decisive, actors, and software developers on social media, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “With the project's 'Change starts with me' motto, we want individuals to realize when they are being used and not let themselves be exploited. Think of social media like a wild horse. A wild horse tries to pull in its own direction. A good groom tames the wild horse and turns it in the desired direction. He says, 'I am the boss.' We will teach young people who use digital media to say 'I am the boss' and give them targets.”
The “Change Starts with Me - Social Media Awareness Project” will be implemented by Üsküdar Üniversitesi, with Üsküdar District Governorate and Üsküdar District Directorate of National Education as project partners. The scientific cooperation protocol for the project was signed at a ceremony.
The ceremony, held at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Central Campus Senate Hall, was attended by Üsküdar District Governor Murat Sefa Demiryürek, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector and Head of the Board of Trustees, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan. Also present at the ceremony were Üsküdar District Director of National Education Sinan Aydın, Üsküdar District Branch Manager Fehmi Gür, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Project Coordinator Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aylin Tutgun Ünal, and from the Project Team, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Yektaş and Lecturer Dr. İbrahim Şahbaz.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “The British see social media as a new battlefield”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector and Head of the Board of Trustees, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stated in his speech that social media awareness is a topic young people need. Tarhan stated that they would implement the project as a conscious awareness creation project in cooperation with the community and young people, much like Üsküdar District Governor Murat Sefa Demiryürek has successfully done, adding, “In 2015, the UK established social media brigades. They named this brigade the 72nd brigade. A brigade consists of a thousand people. Why do they call it a brigade and not a social media working group? Social media is seen as an asymmetric psychological battlefield. If it has a military side, it also has friendly and enemy sides. The social media they define is not like a limb eagerly used by young people. We can say that it is an element of a new war, struggle, power conflict, and even economic war in the future. It is also an area with political consequences, in a way.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Young people should be decisive actors in social media”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that social media plays a significant role in global struggles, global armament, and global capital's various efforts to provide digital comfort, and continued his words as follows:
“There is a digital transformation in the world. Covid-19 has greatly accelerated this digital transformation. We are already experiencing a transformation that might have occurred 10 years later. In this transformation, we need to be producers, not just users, of the digital world. When discussing young people's social media use, we don't want to limit ourselves to how to use social media. We want them to be decisive, actors, and software developers in social media. If we can give young people such a goal in this work, they will act with the motivation to use social media for the benefit of the country and humanity. With the 'Change starts with me' motto in the project, we want individuals to realize when they are being used and not let themselves be exploited. Silicon Valley emerged from the discovery of two master's thesis students. Silicon Valley, when you look at it, is not a physical valley but a mental one. That's why we don't have to be there; we can do it here too. We advise young people to use social media in this way, to be producers, not consumers, to be software developers, and to develop themselves. A few super young people can create great things with a few computers. With this project, we want to offer young people such ideals. If there are such ideals, young people will be more motivated.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “We cannot manage young people with prohibitions and fear”
Stating that young people have high motivation and excitement provided by change, Tarhan said, “If we create the right climate of possibilities for them, they will seize and pursue them. With this project, we plan training sessions that will enable young people to set transcendent goals beyond their self-interest, to undertake work oriented towards societal and national benefit rather than individual gain. This purpose will motivate young people even more. Since social media is considered a battlefield, we must emerge there with our own productivity and new discoveries. Social media is a new area of transformation. As a university, we thought we should carry out studies. We cannot manage young people by imposing prohibitions and instilling fear. The language young people understand is not the language of fear. Current young people understand the language of trust. We will inspire trust in them, create a common language, and foster a healthy relationship. Instead of confronting young people and trying to change them, we want to walk alongside them and enable them to use social media with a purpose.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Children learn technology like a second foreign language”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that parents should not be panicked by constantly discussing the harms of social media, its creation of mental blockages, and its negative effects on children, stating, “Acting this way should not cause a war between parents and children. If social media use is under parental supervision, there is no need to fear. Social media is the technology of our time, and technology is neutral. It serves whatever purpose it is used for. Parents think their children are very smart when they pick up a tablet and start boasting. In reality, the child is learning that language like a second foreign language. The child was born into that technology. As adults, since we are immigrants to the digital world, it seems amazing to us. In fact, it's a normal situation for that child. No one should deceive themselves by saying, 'My child plays wonderfully with the computer, very smart.'”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Young people should learn to direct social media in the way they want”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that the generation born after the 90s is a digital generation and continued his words as follows:
“The generation reaching adolescence has learned digitalization like a foreign language. This is a reality of the world. Instead of opposing digitalization, prohibiting it, and acting conservatively, we should focus on how to use digitalization as a technology for our goals, for humanity, and for the country. When we say 'Change starts with me,' we must direct social media in the direction we want without confronting it. Think of social media as a wild horse. A wild horse tries to pull in its own direction. A good groom tames the wild horse and turns it in the desired direction. He says, 'I am the boss.' We will teach young people who use digital media to say 'I am the boss' and give them targets. Young people will then use social media for the right purposes in line with that target or will not use it when it is not useful, so as not to become slaves to social media. The current youth seems poised to become slaves to social media. If parents spend the entire evening at home with computers, tablets, or phones in their hands, it is not possible to prevent a child by frightening them. Because children model their parents as role models.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Social media addiction disrupts the reward and punishment system”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan pointed out that social media addiction disrupts the reward and punishment system in children, stating, “Guided by the addiction mechanism, they get lost in a game and think they can commit suicide just because the hero in the game they are playing does. As a result, there are cases where individuals become unable to study, cannot go out, and have to be hospitalized. Digital maturity is required at that age. When a person without digital media maturity is left face-to-face without guidance, negative effects emerge.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “We will measure changes in young people with pre and post-tests”
Tarhan stated that in the 'Change Starts with Me' project, they aim for people to become self-aware, saying, “We also have scales related to Generations X and Z, which we have developed, standardized, and completed valid safety studies for. We will administer them as pre-tests and post-tests and try to measure the changes in young people. Additionally, within the scope of the project, we will measure the effects of eye exposure and behavioral development.”
Üsküdar District Governor Murat Sefa Demiryürek: “We are embarking on a new project”
Üsküdar District Governor Murat Sefa Demiryürek stated that they have worked on many projects with Üsküdar Üniversitesi and are about to embark on a new project, saying, “In Üsküdar, we have approximately 92,500 students in high school, middle school, and primary education. There are also over 30,000 young people in higher education. These figures correspond to the population of a province in Anatolia. The Provincial Directorate of National Education is also carrying out productive work in the field. We, along with our municipality, show close interest in schools. For example, every Monday morning, we visit a primary school, middle school, or high school to meet with students. We listen to their needs and try to find solutions.”
Üsküdar District Governor Demiryürek: “We must be guides for children regarding social media”
Drawing attention to a reality we must recognize, Demiryürek said, “Social media use is decreasing in age every day. Its impact on a child's social behavior and psychology, along with the time they dedicate to it, is becoming more prominent day by day. Since it is a very problematic area, it is necessary to guide children correctly. We have a strong belief in providing them with guidance. We will embark on a path with the right goals and beliefs. We aim for schools to come together as beneficiaries with the scientific support and usual guidance of Üsküdar Üniversitesi. We believe that the work will yield fruitful results.”
Sinan Aydın: “Including students in the project will be beneficial”
Üsküdar District Director of National Education Sinan Aydın stated that social media habits begin in middle school, suggesting that including secondary education students in the project could be beneficial. Aydın emphasized the need to know who children are friends with on social media, stating that social media has become unmanageable and that the project would be useful in this regard.
Üsküdar District MoNE Branch Manager Fehmi Gür expressed his wish for the successful execution of the project, stating that the work would provide important data. Gür added that the “Change Starts with Me” project would be very meaningful due to the scarcity of data-driven studies on social media addiction during the pandemic.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aylin Tutgun Ünal: “Aim is to impart social media literacy skills”
Project Coordinator Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aylin Tutgun Ünal stated that Üsküdar District Governorate and Üsküdar District Directorate of National Education are project partners in the project to be carried out under the leadership of Üsküdar Üniversitesi. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aylin Tutgun Ünal noted that 1,500 high school students studying in various high schools in Üsküdar are the target audience of the project, and stated that the project aims to create social media awareness by equipping individuals continuing high school education with social media literacy skills that will enable conscious social media use. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aylin Tutgun Ünal said, “In line with this goal, high school students will be given face-to-face social media literacy seminars during school hours, emphasizing the positive and negative aspects of social media use and its individual and societal impacts.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aylin Tutgun Ünal: “Seminars will be given in 8 schools”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aylin Tutgun Ünal stated that within the scope of the project, seminars would be organized for 8 schools identified by Üsküdar Üniversitesi education experts over a 2-month period, and after the training, a "Feedback Form" would be applied to compile the results into a report. Ünal also stated that online seminars would be held for anyone who wishes to participate, taking into account societal benefit in the project. Ünal added that the results obtained from the project, which is planned to last 6 months, would be shared with the public through a panel discussion.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Yektaş: “Results will shed light on clinical interventions”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Yektaş from the Project Team of Üsküdar Üniversitesi NPİSTANBUL Brain Hospital stated that meeting high school students face-to-face in the project would be very beneficial, saying, “This age group highly values being addressed. Therefore, addressing them first will also bring a kind of acceptance. The most important message of the project is awareness. Because our awareness is very low for adults. Creating awareness related to what we use, why, with what need, and with what motivation will actually be a very important step for preventive interventions. The training we will conduct, the data we will collect from there, and the subsequent results we will obtain will also shed light on the interventions we will make in the clinic.”
Lecturer Dr. İbrahim Şahbaz: “Children's eye health was negatively affected”
Lecturer Dr. İbrahim Şahbaz from the project team stated that during the pandemic, children's eye health, in particular, was significantly damaged. Şahbaz said, “Children's experience with screen addiction differs from adults'. Children integrate when looking at a screen. They isolate themselves from the outside world. For this reason, various eye problems arise. The eye in a child develops until the age of 19. During this period, eye development was also negatively affected due to screens. In this project, we will also try to understand the extent to which children's eye health has been affected.”