Üsküdar Üniversitesi Institute of Social Sciences and Pendik Şehit Yalçın Aran Secondary School Guidance Service hosted Psychology Doctorate Candidate İlknur Uz as this week's guest for the “Parent Academy” event. Uz gave a presentation titled “Oh No, My Child is Addicted to Social Media”.
“Parents' first duty”
Emphasizing that parents should be careful about their children's social media use, Uz said; “Spending long periods in front of a computer can cause damage to the skeletal-muscle system, vision problems, decline in language skills, problems in brain development, negative impacts on social development, and epileptic seizures in some children due to posture and sitting positions in developing children. Therefore, teaching children the right rules about computer and social media use primarily falls to parents.”
“Blocking internet access is not an effective method”
Stating that today's children and youth are born into the world of the internet, and computers and the internet are present in every aspect of life, Uz emphasized that blocking internet access is therefore not an effective method. Uz stated that controlled internet use is the most appropriate approach and drew attention to the importance of educating children and young people on issues such as exposure to cyberbullying and the sharing of personal and private information.
“Social media mends broken ties”
Stating that social media does not only have negative aspects, but also positive ones, Uz said; “Young people can reach a wide audience very quickly in emergency situations through social media. Social media helps young people stay in touch with their distant friends by mending broken ties. In addition, they can also meet new people from different cultures. Furthermore, they can express themselves positively by easily articulating their ideas in various forums. At the same time, they can reveal their potential and showcase their talents to the whole world through social media.”
Parent Academy to Continue Until July
At the end of the event, Prof. Dr. Gökben Hızlı Sayar, Director of Üsküdar University Institute of Social Sciences, extended her thanks to İlknur Uz and the participating parents. Abdullah Özdemir, Principal of Pendik Şehit Yalçın Aran Secondary School, expressed his satisfaction that the Parent Academy event would continue until July and thanked Üsküdar University, the guest speaker, and the participating parents.
The program schedule for the Parent Academies is as follows:
April 15, 2021 - How Can We Support Young People Experiencing Exam Anxiety? – Zeynep Gamze Kalkanlı
April 22, 2021 - Oh No, My Child is Addicted to Social Media – İlknur Uz
April 29, 2021 -Peer Bullying – Büşra Özdoğan
May 6, 2021 - Self-Confidence in Young People – Çisem Uzun
May 20, 2021 - Rules of Communication with Young People – İdil Arasan Doğan
May 27, 2021 - Do Young People Grieve? – Elif Kandaz
June 3, 2021 - Is My Child Using Substances? – Aslı Başabak Bhais
June 10, 2021 - How Can We Help Young People Cope with Stress? – Büşra Odabaş
June 17, 2021 - Adolescence and Its Problems – Eda Yılmazer
June 24, 2021 - My Child is Very Shy - Social Anxiety in Young People – Yasemin Ozan
July 1, 2021 - Digital Addictions – Ali Ruhan Çelik