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YEŞiLAY
The 3
rd
International Congress of Technology Addiction hosted by Green Crescent gathered
the world's leading experts in Istanbul on May 3-4. As many as 1,200 participants attended
the congress along with numerous local and foreign experts in their field. Critical topics such
as internet, video game and television addiction, cyberbullying, cellphone addiction, social
media and shopping addiction, which are considered diseases of the age, were discussed in the
congress, with the outcomes of studies on these subjects explained.
EXPERTSWARNED: “TECHNOLOGY ADDICTION IS
THE PARENTS' RESPONSIBILITY... PLACE RULES
AND RESTRICT"
GREEN CRESCENT HOSTED THE 3
RD
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF TECHNOLOGY ADDICTION
G
reen Crescent hosted an important international con-
gress where technology addiction, which has increasingly
become one of today's major problems worldwide, was
discussed in every detail. The 3rd International Congress of Tech-
nology Addiction that started at WOW Hotel in Istanbul on May
3, was attended by almost 1,200 people. The opening ceremony
was held by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s wife, First Lady
Emine Erdoğan, Education Minister Professor Nabi Avcı, Family
and Social Policies Minister Sema Ramazanoğlu, Culture Society
and Family Association (KÜLT) President Dr. Gülşen Öztürk and
Green Crescent President Professor Mücahit Öztürk. The con-
gress organized and hosted by Green Crescent with the support
of KÜLT and the National Ministry of Education, brought together
many local and foreign experts.
Emine Erdoğan: “Online relationships are pushing
families to fall apart”
In her opening speech, Emine Erdoğan, who thanked Green Cres-
cent which made Turkey an example country for its accomplish-
ments, said technology has been changing our habits and life
style. She said: "In the past, when we needed information, we
would look it up on the encdopedia or a dictionary dictionary,
communicate face-to-face and send our messages through the
post. Today we connect and look up information on the internet.
Instead of playing outside, our children now play games online.
We do our shopping and banking transactions online. Surely the
internet saves us time with such chores. However, the problem
is that, in the meantime, it makes us dependent on it. Social net-
work sites and games have become the center of our lives. Tech-
nology prevents human relations even in social environments. It
leads us to isolate ourselves from our customs, activities such
as sports and arts. It also leads to health problems because of
the magnetic waves we are exposed to. We should protect our
children as much as possible from these effects. Problems such
as impatience, intolerance and lack of empathy start to arise in
children who spend too much time on the internet. Online rela-
tionships push families to fall apart.”
Erdoğan, stated that parents need to be role models when rais-
ing children, ensure they attain the right habits and that children
need to be taught to use technology in moderation. Reminding
that technology is a great advantage if used correctly, in limita-
tion, responsibly, lawfully and consciously, she said, “The biggest
sign of a qualified person is associated with how they utilize their
time. We should make room in our lives for books, art, sports and
face-to-face communication.”
Education Minister Professor Avcı: “Technology is always in our
lives; measures should be developed to prevent it from turning
into an addiction”
EducationMinister Professor Nabi Avcı, who spoke at the open-
ing ceremony, stated that we no longer communicate with our
families and have lost neighborhood under the intense pressure
of the online world. Avcı explained that the great threat faced
by children in the online world is the reason the Ministry of Na-
tional Education (MEB) founded the Education Informatics Net-
work (eba.gov.tr). “This search engine also offers children useful
content related to classes, beneficial games and applications. It
suggests safe websites. Technology is going to increasingly oc-
cupymore space in especially the lives of youth.This is unavoid-
able. Measures must be developed to prevent this from turning
into an addiction, awareness should be raised, we need to be-
come informed,” he said.
GREEN CRESCENT-2016