Asocial society and virtual life
When I was 15-16 years old I used to spend a lot of time with my friends. Now 15-16 years old teenagers spend much time with their computer, on Facebook, Twitter. Now people in villages cultivate farms online but sometimes they do not cultivate in real life – Davit, a young historian from Armenia considers. According to him the computer makes people asocial. We prefer to write now rather more than to talk. Computer isolates people in real life and connects them in virtual life, he adds.
Technologies are created to make the people’s life easier. Information Technologies (IT) are the important part of the technical achievements. And they have huge influence on people’s life. Technologies formulate the society.
Specialist’s opinion
I was talking with a trainer who has complained that if one manages to bring his child to the sport trainings till the child is 12-13, so it is ok, otherwise the children are getting used to the computer and it is almost impossible to take them to any training. And I think that not only this trainer has the same problem – Karen Vrtanesyan, Armenian expert on information security and technological developments told.
I can say that computer and internet boom started in Armenia nearly four years ago. When I organized an evening school named “Anatomy of propaganda in 2008, many of my students did not have computer or internet at their homes. But when I organized the same school in 2010 there was no a student in the group which had not internet at home, the expert continued.
According to him this is a world phenomenon and Armenia could not escape it as well. “You know, computer is not evil, but if young people and especially children spend too much time with it so the consequences will be seen soon. And when they enter big life they become more sensitive. That is why they become more depressively and they are usually unable to stand against the problems they meet. Attempts of suicide among teenagers are becoming more and more frequent”.Not only Armenian society enfaces this problem of virtualization.
What do young people think?
I think that this is a big problem in my society. When I call my friends to go out and meet each other they usually refuse as they are busy with online games and so on. I think that computer is becoming drug for the people. And not only computer, but also TV, video games and so on, Libanio, student from Spain considers. Another student from Georgia, Nino, has expressed the same opinion.
You know even when I read something or have another work to do the computer must be certainly switched on and the Facebook must be opened. I must see what is going on in my friends’ pages. And we put everything on Facebook”, she said. As Nino told in Georgia pupils study with net-books since the beginning and they use no books or text-books.
During the researches for the article we have found a debate on debates.juggle.com web-site about the use and dangers of virtual life. The participants of the debate spoke also about the physical dangers of sitting in front of the computer too long time. “I think that spending too much time on your computer can be bad because it can affect your health. It can cause eye damage, carpal tunnel, and can also cause headaches because of needing to focus on the computer all day.
According to the second user too much time addicted to video games or Internet browsing means less time socializing in the real world. “For example, one of my neighbors demands to play with my son in Modern Warfare 2 every night from 11-3, and gets angry if my son does not log in at that time. He has been married for only a year, and it is my belief that marriage will not last long with this type of behavior”, he writes.
Other users consider as well that too much time on computers means too little time with friends and family and spending too much time on the computer takes away from real life.
We have put a question on Facebook and asked Facebook friends whether they consider people in Armenia spend much time in front of computer and if it has become a problem for the society. The question was on Facebook for only some hours and 52 users answered “yes”, 15 people consider that it is “not a rather big problem” and 8 people consider that this is not a problem at all.
Dangers of abuse
During the research we have found an article about the dangers of using computer too much. According to the article the computer may cause problems with the nerve system. “People try to stay at the computer all the time and they find many reasons for it. The sleepless nights with computer become a syndrome of chronic tiredness”, it says.
The research also refers to the computer’s impression on children. “Schoolchildren in our days spend more and more time in front of computer. As a result the child does not want to learn the lessons. He prefers computer games from the real connections. He does not have any interest besides the computer games. The child who is playing some online games all the time starts to think like his hero. He leaves the real life and tries to overcome all the obstacles which his hero has. He thinks that he is the hero for himself which has to do all the tasks which the game hero has.
As a result of this process children grow up without any friends. They think about their games all the day.” As the author of the article considers shooters are especially dangerous for the children. “The murders and deaths become common case for them and they think that every death is just a game.”
All of us uses computer and many of us do not present life and work without it. But the computer should be used just as a measure to do the work but not make it as a meaning of life and do not be able to live without it. It is better to use the internet for getting information, connecting some people, just simply for doing the work but do not let it capture your time, attention and life in the end.
Tamara Grigoryan
