Technology, which is supposed make our lives easier, is unfortunately detaching us from life, said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at a Technology Addiction Congress on Monday.
“The real issue is how you understand technology and where you place it in your life. We are not technophobic people. We are interested in what scientific advances are being used for,” Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan also addressed the excessive amounts of time spent by students on the internet and using various technologies.
“The time spent by students on computers, telephones, television and the internet is six hours a day. On the other hand, the time they spend on other things such as textbooks and magazines is less than an hour,” the president said.
“Social conversations in real life have been replaced by social media debates. Even in Mecca and Medina, where people should be spending time worshipping, they are spending time on their phones. The technology that is supposed make our lives easier is unfortunately detaching us from life,” he added.
Technology addiction is a relatively new phenomenon and involves the inability to control the use of technology.
“Turkey is in a better position than other countries in this regard. But the danger is still there. Instead of keeping our children away from technology, we should teach them to use it consciously,” Erdoğan said.
“Physical and psychological problems arising from technology dependency have formed new areas of specialization. Investigations reveal that a child is exposed to 11,000 murder scenes on television before the age of 14,” he added.
