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Currently, there are many studies in Lithuania investigating the phenomenon of problematic Internet use. One of them, “Quality of life indicators of Lithuanian students: peculiarities of problematic Internet use and neuropsychological profile”, seeks to evaluate the Internet use habits of Lithuanian students during their studies and prepare questionnaires to determine whether the use of The Internet is already problematic. This study is still ongoing and the researchers conducting it are especially inviting male students to join it, whose participation in this study is crucial:
https://neuropin.lsmu.lt/
The researchers found that during the pandemic, the number of students who thought the Internet was problematic increased. If before the pandemic there were about 14% of them, during the pandemic, already 45% had pronounced symptoms of problematic Internet use.
Psychologist – Psychotherapist working at the Institute of Neurosciences of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences and conducting research, dr. Julius Burkauskas explained that there are several criteria that allow a person to assess whether their use of the Internet is already problematic.
“The questionnaire, which is adapted to interview Lithuanian students, defines problematic Internet use as the feeling that a person should reduce the time spent on the Internet; when a person abandons household chores due to surfing; when you feel tense, upset, when you cannot navigate; when you spend time online instead of sleeping; when you try to hide how much time you spend online when someone asks you; when you feel bad, when you are not online, and resentment disappears when you find yourself online again, ”said J. Burkauskas.
A psychologist would not be willing to associate problematic Internet use with addiction as a substance (of the Internet).
“It is a much broader term, as it includes both impulse purchases, watching pornography and online gambling and gambling, as well as the excessive accumulation of online content or the verification of health-related information online (during a pandemic, viewing and excessive verification of health-related information). information may become apparent). some symptoms), ”said J. Burkauskas.
The time criterion is also important. According to the expert, before the pandemic, it was thought that if you spend more than four hours a day online, that is already a lot. Now that time has been extended to six hours.
“Since many activities (including work) have moved to the Internet, you cannot say that if you exceed four hours, it is a very bad thing. That poster lasted up to six hours. Using the Internet for more than six hours a day can already cause the Internet to negatively affect us, ”said J. Burkauskas.
The researchers found that problematic Internet use was associated with the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms.
“Those who tended to be more involved in problematic Internet use had more symptoms of depression and anxiety. Therefore, it is very important to speak and be aware of how we use the Internet, how much time we spend there, when it becomes problematic, what criteria could define the problematic nature, ”said J. Burkauskas.
The researchers also found that people who were more impulsive had a stronger association between problematic Internet use, depression, and anxiety.
“Impulsiveness is the tendency to act immediately without thinking much. It can be more difficult for impulsive people to tolerate certain emotion, distress, resist disturbance, ”explained J. Burkauskas.
Monitor changes in brain activity.
The issue of problematic Internet use was also important in the research of researcher Inga Griškova-Bulanova, principal investigator at the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center. All interested young people attended, not just students.
“Look, we have healthy people who just have some kind of experience, some level of their own depression, anxiety, impulsivity. How does that relate to the amount of time they spend online? What is happening in the brain? Is it important to know how to diagnose when everything is wrong and you need help? Can we see it very early? ”, Explained I. Griškova-Bulanova.
According to the researcher, a scientific publication has recently appeared that describes that even when people do not have any specific diagnosis, if they spend more time online, they are more impulsive.
“There are very subtle markers that show how the brain works. You may not have a diagnosis, all you have to do is spend a little more time online and your brain is already working differently.
There is an indirect marker for the function of the dopamine system: the spontaneous blink rate. How often do we blink at rest. We have found that people who spend more time online are less likely to be more impulsive, less likely to blink, ”said I. Griškova-Bulanova.
It would seem that one could guess by hand who does not know that there are “dry eyes”, but the researcher clarified that it is not related to vision.
“This is due to the fact that those with more problematic internet use also have decreased activity of the dopamine system in the brain and therefore the brain loses flexibility. They have their own ‘path’, and they follow that ‘path’, and when they have to turn around, they fail, “said I. Griškova-Bulanova.
The researcher would agree with the interpretation that this means that people who use the Internet in a problematic way lose the mental flexibility necessary to find solutions to any problematic situation.
“Using the Internet limits our cognitive ability to do something. Studies show that even 15 minutes of online activity already reduces the intensity of brain activity indicators. What if you sit for hours? ”Said I. Griškova-Bulanova.
According to J. Burkauskas, flexibility of the mind is related to mental fatigue.
“The more drained you are mentally, the less you will make decisions that are flexible, different depending on the situation. The more tired a person is, the more they make the same decisions, no matter how the situation changes ”, explained the psychologist.
Therefore, according to the VU researcher, a person needs as many different activities as possible, that is, to break with what they are immersed in.
“So, it’s time without technology and it’s time to discover that other way of spending time, maybe reading, knitting, skating,” J. Burkauskas reminded him.
It is important not to lose contact with the team
At the same time, in this pandemic period, when a large proportion of workers work remotely, the psychologist urged not to lose contact with workers, and to talk about what we are going through during this period.
“Many organizations turn to psychologists and we do training and relaxation trainings. There are ways to control that. At the organizational level, we see that stress, fatigue, anxiety, sadness, because of what we lost in a pandemic, they continue, and if we feel that way for a long time, the risk of burnout can increase, ”said J. Burkauskas.
According to the specialist, to manage it it is possible to nurture not only work meetings, but also what we have experienced while working live.
“We can meet colleagues by turning on the cameras and have the same coffee, or chat about how we are doing. This allows us to stay in touch, saving us from difficult experiences,” said J. Burkauskas.
In general, the psychologist encouraged greater communication with those close to him when the cameras were on.
“It just came to our knowledge then. From the very beginning, scientists have started to say that the term ‘social isolation’ cannot be used. We need to be physically isolated from each other, but with a heart to be very close to each other, to support us. I always say that it is better to call, say, “Skype” and see us than on the phone, “said J. Burkauskas.
The most important medicine is consciousness.
According to the psychologist, the most important thing when using the Internet is awareness.
“It’s about being aware of how long I’ve been using the Internet. Various devices can help you do this. Many smartphones already follow that setup. We can set limits, see how we feel about them, ”said J. Burkauskas.
According to the specialist, parents should set an example for children in how they handle and respond to limits.
“It would be possible to establish rules for everyone in the family so that the child can say how much he needs the Internet, what he will do without the Internet, how to calm down, what he will do when the time already agreed has passed. The Digital Ethics Center (SEC) is active in this field in Lithuania, which, in cooperation with the Child Support Center, has provided guidelines on how to talk to children about this issue, ”said J. Burkauskas.
Especially during a pandemic, a psychologist advised people to spend more time with themselves during the day without additional online resources.
“If I have to react quickly at work, there may be times when the phone goes into some mode where there are no messages where people can just call and text. It allows me to create a moment in which I work, I am involved in technology and a moment in which my mind rests on that, ”said J. Burkauskas.
According to the expert, it is recommended to get away from the screens an hour before going to bed, and not to have digital devices in the bedroom.
“It just came to our attention then. One of them is the effect of screen exposure. Another reason is mental stimulation. Because you pick up the phone, you turn off the alarm, and you see five emails. Then the stress level increases. and the day begins with an additional stress level. Although I can experience stress levels in a controlled way when I get to work and turn on my work computer. There I found the same emails, “said J. Burkauskas.
It is possible to train the mind
The anxiety that arises when moving away from smart devices, according to one specialist, needs to be addressed.
“Anxiety goes away if I stay like this for a week, if I train my mind. It’s not like we miss something, it just seems like we do. We’ll find the same information the next morning if we dedicate that night to, say, training our minds. and disconnect from the Internet.
Tech detox is gaining popularity. One of the ways to help yourself is to dedicate your mind to experiencing it more often so that you can discover activities and hobbies that are not related to using the Internet, ”said J. Burkauskas.
If you do not do it yourself, according to the psychologist, you can always turn to your colleagues. The specialist assured that this is not too small a problem to seek help.
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