The internet and social media have become a real addiction. According to We Are Social, Italians spend on average about six hours a day onlineapproximately ten years of one’s life.
A disturbing fact, but no more bitter than that provided by Istat on the little ones: if before Covid, children between six and ten years old who surfed the internet every day were 18.4%, now they are 30.2%. Even teenagers have paid the price for the pandemic effect: of the 3,400 kids interviewed by the Generazioni Connesse project, coordinated by the Ministry of Education, 47% said they spend more than five hours a day online. Before Covid the percentage was 30%.
The most worrying number of all, however, is the one provided by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità on newborns. The percentage of children between 11 and 15 months entertained with a tablet or mobile phone reaches 58.1%. An enormity, considering that the World Health Organization recommends that up to the age of two, time on the internet should be zero.
Aside from addiction to a virtual world, what could be the problems resulting from so many hours spent online? For the youngest cognitive disorders, for adolescents difficulty in relating to others; in general reduced short-term memory, sleep disorders, overweight, anxiety and depression.
But perhaps there is still hope for the future. According to the Digital Ethical Movement observatory, 87% of young people would like to reduce their time on the internet and spend a weekend with friends without connections. Could this be the first sign of a change in trend?
