Underlining that the most common mistake parents make in this addiction spiral is using screens as an "emotion regulator" to silence children, Dinç emphasizes that the real struggle doesn't end with simply taking the device away from the child.
The expert stated that when the phone disappears, the dangerous void left behind must be filled with real-life experiences, age-appropriate responsibilities, and family relationships, and he explained in detail the vital tasks society must undertake to establish a healthy screen-life balance. 1. Through exactly which channels and how do smartphones and social media transform the mental health of children and adolescents?
Let me say this first: The issue is not technology itself. Technology, when used correctly, is a very valuable tool. The question we ask is: Is the child growing up with technology, or are they beginning to live life through technology? The transformation works through several channels. First is time. Every hour spent on a screen is actually an hour stolen from something else: sleep, play, physical activity, friendship, family conversation.
Yet childhood is a period of learning through running, falling and getting up, touching, and building real relationships. On the screen there is sight and sound, but no touch, smell, or taste. Learning that lacks the five senses nourishes a child incompletely. Second is the reward system. Short videos and notifications constantly stimulate the brain's expectation of quick reward; attention span shortens, the capacity to wait weakens. Third is comparison.
Social media constantly presents the child with a feed made up of "the best versions of others"; a child who compares themselves to this feed experiences a blow to their self-worth. Fourth is early exposure: Children enter the adult world before living their childhood. The numbers also support this picture. According to the World Health Organization, one in seven children in the 10-19 age group, that is approximately 14 percent, experiences a mental health problem.
A meta-analysis published in 2024 covering approximately 1.1 million children and adolescents also shows that problematic social media use is associated with depression, anxiety, feelings of loneliness, and reduced life satisfaction. Of course, it would not be correct to explain this picture solely with technology; many factors, from family to school, peer relationships to genetics, affect children's mental health.
However, we can now say clearly: The digital ecosystem has become a direct health determinant. We must look at the issue with this seriousness. 2. What is the main reason behind the claim that deterioration in child psychology has increased in recent years? Does digitalization have a relationship with this? I do not attribute children's psychological difficulties to a single cause.
But I think we need to change the question we ask. We usually ask, "What is wrong with the child?" Whereas the real question should be: What has been lost in the child's life? The answer is often similar: Quality time is missing. Play is missing. Physical activity is missing. Contact with nature is missing. Responsibility is missing. Peer relationships are missing. As children's opportunities have increased, so has their loneliness.
Digitalization certainly has a relationship with this picture, but blaming technology alone would be an oversimplification. The real problem is that the screen ceases to be a tool and substitutes for life. I summarize it as follows: Addiction enters the void. If a child has meaningful relationships and meaningful tasks in their life, the screen may occupy a place in that life but cannot capture the center.
As the void grows, the screen fills it; after a while, it appropriates the space it fills. Therefore, the solution is not merely to take the phone away. The real issue is what you will fill the remaining void with when you take the phone away. 3. What are the mistakes that families think are right, but most frequently make, when giving digital devices to their children at an early age?
One of the most common mistakes is using the screen as a helper that silences the child. Every parent struggles at times, I understand that. But if a screen is presented every time the child is bored, sad, or crying, that child cannot learn to cope with their own emotions. The screen ceases to be a toy and becomes an emotion regulator. This is the real risk. The second misconception is reducing the issue entirely to screen time.
"How many hours did they use?" is an important question, but it is not sufficient on its own. I recommend families ask themselves: How does the screen affect my child's sleep, friendships, responsibilities, and joy? Third, turning limits into a punishment-reward system. The sentence "If you behave, half an hour of tablet" turns the screen into a reward in the child's eyes; unaware, you increase its value.
Limits should be set, but not as a matter of negotiation; they should be set as a natural rule of life. Another mistake is to overlook content and solitude. The content the child watches must be age-appropriate, the games must be prepared with pedagogical principles in mind, and the child should not be left alone in front of the screen as much as possible. But perhaps the most important thing is this: Children learn not what they are told, but what they see.
It is not very realistic for a parent who looks at their phone at the dinner table to expect their child to adhere to screen limits. Healthy digital habits begin first at home, first with us. 4. How can parents understand whether the attachment their child has developed to digital platforms is a simple habit or a clinical addiction? Not every intensive use is addiction.
Today, children follow their lessons on the screen and talk with their friends there too. Therefore, deciding based solely on time is not correct. The criterion is: Has technology started to impair the child's functioning in life?
It is necessary to be careful if the following signs are present: if the child cannot control the time and cannot quit even when they want to; if they experience intense anger, restlessness, or anxiety when the device is taken away; if their sleep, school performance, and daily responsibilities suffer; if they withdraw from friends and family; if the screen has become the primary way to escape real-life difficulties. And there is also this: the void after quitting.
Recently, a young person wrote to us: "When you put down the phone, what do you do? I pick it up again." That void is a very dangerous thing. If, when the child moves away from the screen, no life remains for them to fill, we need to stop and think. Families often notice this change before anyone else.
If you find yourself thinking, "My child is not like they used to be," take this seriously and do not hesitate to seek a professional assessment. Early detection is the most powerful intervention. 5. What are the basic responsibilities that fall on parents and society to establish a healthy screen-life balance? First let me say this: We cannot place this burden solely on the shoulders of parents.
It is not fair to expect a family to struggle alone at the dinner table against the world's largest attention economy. Protecting children is a societal responsibility that must be jointly undertaken by the state, institutions, schools, platforms, and technology companies.
I would like to underline a distinction here: In chemical addictions, combating supply yields more results; in behavioral addictions, what is decisive is combating demand. That is, we must focus not on removing the screen from life but on making life more attractive than the screen. On the legal side, our country has taken a valuable step.
The regulation that foresees not providing social media services to children under the age of 15, imposing mandatory age verification and parental control tools on platforms, and rating game platforms by age has been enacted and will come into force in November. As Yeşilay, we have long been calling for this. But let me say it clearly: No law can replace the relationship at home.
The law corrects the ground; the family builds the life. My advice to parents is to set rules together with the child and ensure those rules apply to everyone at home. Our "No Screens at Nine" call is precisely for this: Between 21:00 and 21:30 in the evening, the whole family puts down screens and turns toward each other. Half an hour may seem short, but that half hour is enough for a family to remember one another again.
As Yeşilay, through our Türkiye Addiction Prevention Training Program, our School-Based Addiction Intervention Program, and our Life Skills Training Program, we have reached more than 10 million children and close to 3 million adults. We do not just provide education; we also create alternatives: our sports club, our debate competition, the Healthy Generation Healthy Future talent competition exist for this purpose.
Because telling a child "don't do that" is not enough; you must be able to say "do this." 6. Is it possible to re-equip children with problem-solving and daily living skills that have weakened due to digitalization? It is certainly possible; even faster than we think. The greatest strength of our children is that they are open to learning and change. The brain develops with new experiences; lost skills can be regained in the right environment.
This path does not pass through grand projects. Giving age-appropriate responsibilities, involving them in household chores, cooking together, fixing something broken, allowing them to complete a task from start to finish... A child who does not take responsibility also cannot learn to make decisions. I often express it like this: A person who is not responsible becomes a problem. What makes a person an adult is not age, but the ability to take responsibility.
Activities that require patience are also very valuable: sports, arts, music, gardening, books. These teach the child that there is a form of satisfaction beyond quick rewards. This is, in fact, the most effective method of combating digital addiction: to remove the screen from the center of life and put real-life experiences in its place. We do not want struggling families to be left alone.
Our Yeşilay Counseling Centers (YEDAM) are there for our citizens in 105 locations across all 81 provinces, free of charge and on a confidentiality basis. Anyone who calls 115 can make an appointment. To date, we have received over 1,700,000 calls; this line is the center of the fight not only against digital addiction but also against alcohol, tobacco, substance, and gambling addictions. Finally, I would like to say this: Our elders have a very beautiful saying.
"There are two cities: one is the city we live in, the other is the city that lives within us." Just as a city is protected by walls, the city inside a person also wants to be protected. The most fundamental skill we need to instill in our children is this: We don't have to see everything, hear everything, take everything. Sabah.com.tr opened the "digital addiction" file: What has changed since 2012? Invisible algorithms that direct children.
