A day without a smartphone.
The 2024 edition of the will be held on Saturday 18 May in the old city of Taranto Disconnect Day, a national event which, with talks and workshops on digital wellbeing, aims to raise awareness of children and adults of all ages on the phenomenon of device addiction and on the conscious use of new technologies. During Disconnect Day people will be invited to “disconnect” from new technologies for a few hours and involved in activities and meetings to help understand, in a pleasant and playful way, how digital impacts our lives and how important it is to know its opportunities and risks .
«The Disconnect Day is a national event which takes place in Taranto for the first time, thanks to the commitment of the Department of Pathological Addictions which wanted this initiative in collaboration with theNational association Di.Te. and the support and participation of the Municipality of Taranto – explains the general director of ASL Taranto Gregorio Colacicco – The conscious use of technologies and the fight against this type of behavioral addiction are fundamental for the development of younger people, but also for us adults who are certainly not safe from the risks of poorly informed exposure.”
From morning until evening in the old city there will be various points and stations with various activities: upon accessing the island, people will be invited by the operators of the info points to hand over your smartphone to be placed in a sealed envelope and returned immediately to the owner who, however, will undertake not to open the envelope for a few hours “peek” the phone thus enjoying the proposed activities, without social sharing or selfies or instant messages.
«Our dependence on technologies has become a daily challenge, especially for younger people, who are growing up in an increasingly digital world. – explains the professor Giuseppe Lavenia, president of the National Association of Technological Addictions (Di.Te.) – Disconnect Day represents a crucial opportunity to become aware of how deeply devices have infiltrated our daily lives. Taking a break from technologies can help us rediscover the importance of human relationships and direct communication, fundamental elements for our psychological well-being. It is essential to reflect on the use we make of technologies, to ensure that they remain tools at our service and do not become the masters of our daily lives.”
In addition to the activities designed and organized in the morning with the participation of local schools, starting from 9:00 and throughout the day there will be opportunities for participation and discussion dedicated to people of all ages. There will be gods talk on digital education with the president of the Di.Te. association, psychologist, psychotherapist and popularizer Giuseppe Lavenia, and the journalist and popularizer Gianluigi Bonanomi; we will discuss virtual identity, challenges and artificial intelligence; there will be experiential laboratories and activities such as triathlon and rowing, but also workshops and theatrical performances and other activities which, through recreational or sporting experiences, will allow us to promote a more conscious approach to the digital world.
«Holding the Disconnect Day in Taranto is part of an idea of primary prevention of addictions which sees sharing with the local network and professional skills the answer to complex phenomena such as behavioral addiction – declares the director of the Department of Pathological Addictions of the ASL Taranto, Vincenza Ariano – This disconnected day was created to offer people the opportunity to experiment without devices, train and raise awareness on the topic and look at these new technological opportunities with an awareness of the risks they can represent, but achieve digital well-being in their use ».
He has been working within the Department of Pathological Addictions since 2005 the Gambling and Behavioral Addictions Service, a multidisciplinary team coordinated by Dr. Katia Pierriwhich deals with the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of behavioral addictions and has so far taken care of around 700 people.
Among other activities, the “social table”, i.e. an area where participants can experiment in pairs or groups starting from the proposed stimuli; in the Hall of Mirrors of the Taranto Town Hall, at 4.30 pm and 6.00 pm, the journalist Gianluigi Bonanomi will talk about sharenting and the risks linked to this phenomenon of constant online sharing by parents of content concerning their children. At the Teatro Comunale Fusco at 6.00 pm there will be the meeting “Being a positive influencer” with Vincenzo Schettinithe professor, creator and star of “The Physics We Like”, while at 7.30 pm the Paolo Ruffini’s film “Bad Boy” with Beppe Fiorello, Sabrina Impacciatore, Massimo Ghini. Both of these events are already sold out.
The complete program of the day is available on the ASL Taranto website and on www.dipendenze.com and, to participate in the activities, booking via email to [email protected].
