Gelisim News

We use the internet for an average of 8 hours a day!

Our daily life is intertwined with the digital world. Although this has many advantages and benefits, it must be used and understood correctly so that it does not become dangerous. Emphasizing the need to develop digital literacy in order to raise awareness about digital addiction, Asst. Prof. Dr. Eren Efe from Istanbul Gelisim University stated daily internet use in Turkey is 8 hours compared to the total population average.

With the development of the digital world and its spread to all age groups, the usage rate is increasing. Increasing internet usage and duration both in the world and in Turkey brings with it many problems. The problem of self-control regarding using digital technologies is considered a digital addiction. Asst. Prof. Dr. Eren Efe, from Istanbul Gelisim University Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, Department of New Media and Communication, indicated that digital literacy should be developed and individuals should control their digital consumption in order to raise awareness of digital addiction.

There are 68.9 million social media users in Turkey

As a result of developing technologies and updates, daily life continues with the influence of digital culture. Increasing usage rate around the world; brings with it some economic, social and cultural problems. According to DataReportal's September 2022 report, active social media users reach 4.62 billion people, making up 58.4% of the world's population. Asst. Prof. Dr. Eren Efe: “An internet user's daily online time is 7 hours when we look at the world average. In Turkey, there are 69.5 million internet users, with an increase of 5.9% between 2021 and 2022, constituting 82% of the total population. With an increase of 14.8%, there are 68.9 million social media users who make up 80.8% of the population. The daily internet usage time in Turkey reaches 8 hours according to the total population average.’’

“Digital literacy” training is required!

With the developing technology, many new concepts have been included in our lives. One of them is “digital literacy”. Digital literacy training is necessary for individuals to understand and control their digital consumption. Dr. Efe: “Digital addiction is an impulse control disorder that refers to the excessive and obsessive use of all kinds of digital devices and digital platforms such as games, online platforms, mobile devices, social media. This type of addiction, which was discussed in the field of cyber psychology, was included in the scope of the disease in 1995 and started to be evaluated. Digital literacy needs to be developed in order to raise awareness about digital addiction. Digital literacy, which expresses the competencies of individuals to use all kinds of digital device applications, also includes creating awareness about the risks that arise with these competencies. Hence, incorporating a digital addiction preventive approach into digital literacy training will help fight digital addiction.”