UNAIR NEWS – Gadgets are small electronic devices that have special functions. The form varies from cellphones, tablets to laptops. As technology develops, especially amid pandemic, the use of gadgets increases significantly. Therefore, in a community service activity conducted by Banyuwangi Public Health Program lecturers and several lecturers from Surabaya, gadget addiction was discussed. The activity was carried out on October 22-23, 2020 through zoom platform.
The presentation by Susy Katikana Sebayang S.P., M.Sc., Ph.D. on gadget addiction, was begun with some slides on the results of initial survey conducted to junior high and high school teenagers in Banyuwangi. The survey results on the characteristics of smartphone addiction in people showed that 62% of adolescents failed to realize their plans, 59% had difficulty concentrating, 59.3% had wrist or neck pain, 59.4% could not stand without a smartphone, 47.8% were irritated when there is no smartphone, 48.3% kept on thinking about smartphones, 30.5% can’t stop playing smartphones, 71.1% always check their smartphones so they don’t miss other people’s conversations, 56.9% used longer than planned, and 50.3% of people around them said they were using smartphones too long.
“So after calculating the existing figures, there are 61% of adolescents who experience some kind of disorder or symptoms of smartphone addiction. Maybe because of the pandemic, usage has increased, but after the pandemic is over, hopefully, people can reduce dependence on gadgets,” explained the lecturer known as Susy during presentation.
Therefore, it is important to further review the dangers and ways of overcoming gadget addiction. The following is Susy’s explanation in her presentation.
The Danger of Gadget Addiction
- 1. Eye health problems
2. Mental health problems, 49% of people who access the internet have been bullied and a third of them are quiet and a tenth are bullied.
- 3. Insomnia (difficulty sleeping), because the gadget emits blue light which makes it difficult to sleep. The longer you use the gadget, the more difficult it is to sleep, so it is not recommended to use the gadget before bed.
- 4. Obesity (overweight). If we are in front of gadgets, people will rarely move. They tend to avoid exercising, traveling, and even using gadgets while eating snacks so they gain more weight.
- 5. Lack of direct interaction, because their lives in cyberspace are fun and interesting.
- 6. Poor performance at school, due to difficulty sleeping at night, difficulty concentrating at school and the time management is bad as well.
How to overcome
- 1. Limit the time of gadget use
- 2. Avoid using gadgets before bed
- 3. Use gadgets as needed
- 4. Do other activities such as sports, doing hobbies, caring for pets, enjoying nature.
In the end of the session, the organizer also presented an educational video related to gadget addiction which can also be accessed via the following YouTube page https://youtu.be/lBFv0T0Q-2c. (*)
Author: Rista Novianti
Editor : Nuri Hermawan
