Opinion: Impact of the Internet on mental health
The use of network technology products and platforms has become the trend of the times. Today’s teenagers are called “indigenous people” in the Internet age. Because they have been exposed to the Internet since childhood, there is no obstacle to the concept of operation of technology products. However, due to their familiarity and investment, they lack vigilance and resilience to the potential risks of the Internet and are especially vulnerable to subtle psychological influences.
There are many factors that affect the mental health of young people, including academics, relationships, family or other interpersonal relationships, but the potential risks of digital and network technology products to the “aboriginal people” are more worthy of attention because these aboriginal people have “lived” on the Internet since childhood. The world, starting from ordinary games and online chats with familiar classmates, gradually entered the deepwater area, talking with strangers in a strange and complex game world, and dabbling in more diverse social media, contacting more strangers and strange things, the so-called “like entering abalone’s place, for a long time without smelling its odor”, after being in it for a long time, it is more likely to lack the ability to discern. The risks in this are not only the problems of cheating money and sex due to the lack of distinction between good and evil but also the emotional damage caused by many online languages that do not know how to deal with it, indulge in the online world and do not know how to look away from real life and contact cyberspace. extreme remarks or one-sided opinions into their own thoughts.
Phenomenons such as these are becoming more and more common among young people and the use of the Internet has become habitual. Because it is not a specific problem, most young people will not easily share their online experiences with their parents, so they usually do not attract the attention of parents. , without an effective and accessible platform for assistance, some teens may be taken so far that they will one day be in trouble without knowing it.
If we can find a relatively effective method in terms of technology and system to reduce the adverse impact on young people, for example, when any suspicious situation is found from the source of traffic or extreme or violent content, there can be appropriate mechanisms to block it. Or issuing reminders, which may have a protective effect on young people. In addition, organizations such as parents, schools, and social services should also play their respective roles and constantly remind online natives that there are various risks lurking in cyberspace, including deception, bullying, extremism, addiction, and more.
Network technology is a great leap forward in human development, and when International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) exhibited its first so-called smartphone in 1992, no one thought that it would cause earth-shaking changes in such a short period of time. Today, this is an important space for learning, communication, living and economic activities, and cannot be blocked or over-regulated. However, in the face of teenagers who do not have sufficient discernment or even self-control, how the society can provide reminders and alerts before problems occur, as well as active assistance and guidance after problems occur at the level of ideological concepts and behavior patterns, depends on the overall network practice and behavior. The normative structure has been continuously improved and strengthened to make the network use space healthier and reduce unnecessary psychological deviations and social costs.