The Internet and Youth

Sheikh Iraj

Today we live in a world surrounded by personal computers (PCs), mobile phones and one of the greatest technological innovations _ the internet. Some refer to this as the Information or Computer Age. Thanks to the technological advancement of smartphones, now we have PCs and the internet in the palm of our hand. According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) website, the total number of internet subscribers in Bangladesh had reached nearly 67 million by the end of September 2016. It is a fact that today’s youths are more internet savvy than ever before. The internet has created such enthusiasm among the young that for many, a world without it is quite unimaginable. Nearly 50 per cent of our population is young and many of them have access to the internet. It won’t be an exaggeration to say the internet dominates many crucial aspects of our everyday life. We all know about the countless positive benefits that we receive by using the internet. However, researches carried out in different countries indicate that too much use of the internet and social media sites can have a negative effect on youngsters. That leads us to question: Are our youth using the internet for pproductive purposes? Is the use of internet making us smarter and more social? Should there be a time limit on internet use for students? To find out the answers, Y&I spoke to some IT experts, teachers, psychologists, and parents. They talked about responsibilities and possible solutions to deal with any negative aspects.     
Dr Iqbal Kabir, Public Health Specialist

Those of us who work with public health always keep track of different health issues. The positive or negative effect of using the internet is one of them. Too much internet can have some serious effects on youngsters. Let me tell you some of the negative effects. Addiction to the internet, cyber-crime, abandoning family life, lack of physical development, cyberbullying, sexual harassment, lack of privacy, temperament to cheat in exams, insomnia are among the major negative effects. If you observe teenagers who use too much internet, you will see them getting angry if they can’t access the net. They can’t stay still in one place. You will see they are shy of face to face conversations. But then there are many encouraging aspects of the internet. For example, I can tell you more about this topic by reading from different sources available online. To stop the negative aspects of the internet from spreading we, have to divide the users according to age. About 36 per cent of our population is between the ages of 20 to 29. They are more matured users, but they need to learn the proper way to use the internet for more productive work. Nearly 26 per cent of the population is aged 13 to 19, and they are the most venerable ones. They need continuous guidance and monitoring. I have nothing against psychologists, but they deal with one case at a time. That’s why they are not able to see the problem entirely. To make people more aware of the harmful effects, we all need to come forward. There should be more research conducted to find out about our country’s situation on this matter. I think 80 per cent of our students use the internet for unproductive purposes.

Mohit Kamal, Head of Psychotherapy, National Institute of Mental Health

People do things based on motivation. Too much internet takes away the motivation and the driving force of a person. Cognitive development of such youth stops and most of them can’t produce anything new. We come across many such cases. Parents bring their children who are suffering from various types of psychological problems due to too much internet use. We normally consider as teenagers those who are between 13 to 19 years old. They are easily persuaded to do things that are not morally right in our society. For example, today teenagers have easy access to adult sites. Visiting such websites creates hormonal imbalance. In the long run, those teenagers are not able to emotionally connect with their partners. Again, if you observe closely then you will see those who use too much internet do not want to attend social gatherings, simply because they are scared. Too much internet use also leads to lack of interest towards studies and eventually, they don’t do well academically. Such teenagers also become anti-social and can’t mix with others. Parents are the ones who can really help in dealing with such problems. However, in our country parents have very little idea about group parenting.  Playing too many games on the internet is also harmful to youths. They develop a sense of aggression that doesn’t exist in the real world; they live in their own impractical world. We have a term called ‘safe limit’, where we advise parents to set up a time limit for internet use for their children.

Shahidul K K Shuvra, IT Journalist

There are some negative effects of using the internet, but we normally tend to turn a blind eye to those. In our country, we do not have any adequate research on the issue. On the contrary, many developed nations are carrying out research on this matter. From an IT journalist’s perspective, I think we need more monitoring and censorship on such issues. Firstly, we can distinguish between different age groups. For example, Facebook has a policy that no one under the age of 15 can be a member of the site. The truth is people don’t really follow that. I know children who are only 7 or 8 years old but already have Facebook accounts. Now the social media sites should not be blamed for this. What we need is mass awareness on the part of schools, colleges, guardians and teachers. There is software out there that can stop children from accessing websites that parents don’t want them to visit. One can easily use those. Again, children become less social due to overuse of the internet, so parents should try to connect more with them.
 
Rokonuzzaman, Professor, Electrical Engineering Department, North South University

In our university, we do not allow students to use mobile  phones or the internet while they are in class. Outside our country, many studies have been conducted to find out about the negative effects of the internet. There is no doubt that the internet has the potential to teach us about different academic subjects. That been said, the contents that can teach us about various subjects are low in supply. I have observed that internet packages our students subscribe to are mostly used for chatting. They can’t watch videos as it will cost more and they can’t afford that. I have seen that most of the time students are using the internet for unproductive purposes.

Symana Biswas, Arts Department, Scholastica School

Up to class 3, we don’t allow our students to use the internet or smart phones. Of course, when we want to teach certain topics, like someone’s biography, we ask our students to go online and get an idea from there. Sometimes, we get complaints from parents that their children spend too much time on the internet playing games. When we give report cards, we positively ask our students to concentrate more on their studies. Now I have a child of my own, she uses my mobile phone to play games, but I always try to keep track of the things she is doing. I believe we should motivate children to use the internet in a positive way and as a tool for learning. And at the same time, we should make them aware of the negative sides.

Rabeya Pervin, Lecturer, Biology Department, Adamjee Cantonment Public School & College    

In our college we have Wi-Fi, but not all students have access to it. The class captains have to communicate with teachers and the principal on a regular basis so they have access to Wi-Fi. In our computer lab, students are allowed to surf the internet but we don’t allow them to enter all websites. I have seen students who are using the internet too much and not being able to give full concentration in class. Of course, one can argue that they are getting better in multitasking, but only a small per cent of the entire population of the world can do that. I think we teachers have a bigger role to play in helping the students to deal with such an issue. For example, we can set a time limit for internet use. We can motivate the students by asking them to use the internet after completing their studies and sports. Now at the end of the day, it comes down to how you want to use the internet. Some of my students go online and read and naturally, they do better than those who only chat on social media.
            
Ahsan Habib, Associate Professor, Department of Educational and Psychology Guidance, University of Dhaka

There are both good and bad effects of the internet. I am an optimist _ I believe the internet is helping us in ways we never imagined. Of course, there will be some negative aspects, but it depends on how you decide to use it. When I was studying in a foreign university, there we had apps that helped us with the courses we chose. For example, by using those apps we had access to course outlines, mark sheets, e-catalogues, etc. I think we need that kind of technology in our country. Often, we hear students complaining about being stuck in traffic jams, now with the help of the internet and different apps, they can utilise that time to do something productive. At Dhaka University, we have open Wi-Fi for all the departments. I believe teachers have a larger role to play, we should create awareness among university students because they are mature enough and they can spread that awareness to others.

Md Mostafizur Rahman, Parent

I have three daughters and all of them have smartphones. I don’t interfere with what they want to do. Once you are 18 years old, you are considered an adult and you should decide what’s good for you. I personally don’t use the internet that much. As a parent, I am aware of some of the negative aspects of the internet. One can always tell the children to use the internet for more productive purposes. I don’t see any harm in that.
 
Amirul Islam, Guardian

I am a writer and I always support free thinking.  Although I never got married, my elder brother has a son and they consider me as his guardian. Before he entered university, I used to keep track of his internet use daily. I would ask him what he learned on the net that day and could he teach me? I can’t deny that like most of university students, my nephew loves the internet and he can get extremely angry if he can’t get access. That doesn’t mean I will ask him not to visit any particular website. Rather, I can give him some positive and bigger picture by telling him about the new language learning website I just visited, for example. I personally use the internet, and I believe as long as no one is causing any trouble to others or the country, it’s nobody’s business as to how one chooses to use the internet.

Noirit Mustapha contributed to this article.

 

The Internet and Youth

Sheikh Iraj Today we live in a world surrounded by personal computers (PCs), mobile phones and one of the greatest technological innovations _ the internet. Some refer to this as the Information or Computer Age. Thanks to the technological advancement of smartphones, now we have PCs and the internet in the palm of our hand. According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) website, the total number of internet subscribers in Bangladesh had reached nearly 67 million by the end of September 2016. It is a fact that todays youths are more internet savvy than ever before. The internet has created such enthusiasm among the young that for many, a world without it is quite unimaginable. Nearly 50 per cent of our population is young and many of them have access to the internet. It wont be an exaggeration to say the internet dominates many crucial aspects of our everyday life. We all know about the countless positive benefits that we receive by using the internet. However, researches carried out in different countries indicate that too much use of the internet and social media sites can have a negative effect on youngsters. That leads us to question: Are our youth using the internet for pproductive purposes? Is the use of internet making us smarter and more social? Should there be a time limit on internet use for students? To find out the answers, YI spoke to some IT experts, teachers, psychologists, and parents. They talked about responsibilities and possible solutions to deal with any negative aspects. Dr Iqbal Kabir, Public Health Specialist Those of us who work with public health always keep track of different health issues. The positive or negative effect of using the internet is one of them. Too much internet can have some serious effects on youngsters. Let me tell you some of the negative effects. Addiction to the internet, cyber-crime, abandoning family life, lack of physical development, cyberbullying, sexual harassment, lack of privacy, temperament to cheat in exams, insomnia are among the major negative effects. If you observe teenagers who use too much internet, you will see them getting angry if they cant access the net. They cant stay still in one place. You will see they are shy of face to face conversations. But then there are many encouraging aspects of the internet. For example, I can tell you more about this topic by reading from different sources available online. To stop the negative aspects of the internet from spreading we, have to divide the users according to age. About 36 per cent of our population is between the ages of 20 to 29. They are more matured users, but they need to learn the proper way to use the internet for more productive work. Nearly 26 per cent of the population is aged 13 to 19, and they are the most venerable ones. They need continuous guidance and monitoring. I have nothing against psychologists, but they deal with one case at a time. Thats why they are not able to see the problem entirely. To make people more aware of the harmful effects, we all need to come forward. There should be more research conducted to find out about our countrys situation on this matter. I think 80 per cent of our students use the internet for unproductive purposes. Mohit Kamal, Head of Psychotherapy, National Institute of Mental Health People do things based on motivation. Too much internet takes away the motivation and the driving force of a person. Cognitive development of such youth stops and most of them cant produce anything new. We come across many such cases. Parents bring their children who are suffering from various types of psychological problems due to too much internet use. We normally consider as teenagers those who are between 13 to 19 years old. They are easily persuaded to do things that are not morally right in our society. For example, today teenagers have easy access to adult sites. Visiting such websites creates hormonal imbalance. In the long run, those teenagers are not able to emotionally connect with their partners. Again, if you observe closely then you will see those who use too much internet do not want to attend social gatherings, simply because they are scared. Too much internet use also leads to lack of interest towards studies and eventually, they dont do well academically. Such teenagers also become anti-social and cant mix with others. Parents are the ones who can really help in dealing with such problems. However, in our country parents have very little idea about group parenting. Playing too many games on the internet is also harmful to youths. They develop a sense of aggression that doesnt exist in the real world; they live in their own impractical world. We have a term called safe limit, where we advise parents to set up a time limit for internet use for their children. Shahidul K K Shuvra, IT Journalist There are some negative effects of using the internet, but we normally tend to turn a blind eye to those. In our country, we do not have any adequate research on the issue. On the contrary, many developed nations are carrying out research on this matter. From an IT journalists perspective, I think we need more monitoring and censorship on such issues. Firstly, we can distinguish between different age groups. For example, Facebook has a policy that no one under the age of 15 can be a member of the site. The truth is people dont really follow that. I know children who are only 7 or 8 years old but already have Facebook accounts. Now the social media sites should not be blamed for this. What we need is mass awareness on the part of schools, colleges, guardians and teachers. There is software out there that can stop children from accessing websites that parents dont want them to visit. One can easily use those. Again, children become less social due to overuse of the internet, so parents should try to connect more with them. Rokonuzzaman, Professor, Electrical Engineering Department, North South University In our university, we do not allow students to use mobile phones or the internet while they are in class. Outside our country, many studies have been conducted to find out about the negative effects of the internet. There is no doubt that the internet has the potential to teach us about different academic subjects. That been said, the contents that can teach us about various subjects are low in supply. I have observed that internet packages our students subscribe to are mostly used for chatting. They cant watch videos as it will cost more and they cant afford that. I have seen that most of the time students are using the internet for unproductive purposes. Symana Biswas, Arts Department, Scholastica School Up to class 3, we dont allow our students to use the internet or smart phones. Of course, when we want to teach certain topics, like someones biography, we ask our students to go online and get an idea from there. Sometimes, we get complaints from parents that their children spend too much time on the internet playing games. When we give report cards, we positively ask our students to concentrate more on their studies. Now I have a child of my own, she uses my mobile phone to play games, but I always try to keep track of the things she is doing. I believe we should motivate children to use the internet in a positive way and as a tool for learning. And at the same time, we should make them aware of the negative sides. Rabeya Pervin, Lecturer, Biology Department, Adamjee Cantonment Public School College In our college we have Wi-Fi, but not all students have access to it. The class captains have to communicate with teachers and the principal on a regular basis so they have access to Wi-Fi. In our computer lab, students are allowed to surf the internet but we dont allow them to enter all websites. I have seen students who are using the internet too much and not being able to give full concentration in class. Of course, one can argue that they are getting better in multitasking, but only a small per cent of the entire population of the world can do that. I think we teachers have a bigger role to play in helping the students to deal with such an issue. For example, we can set a time limit for internet use. We can motivate the students by asking them to use the internet after completing their studies and sports. Now at the end of the day, it comes down to how you want to use the internet. Some of my students go online and read and naturally, they do better than those who only chat on social media. Ahsan Habib, Associate Professor, Department of Educational and Psychology Guidance, University of Dhaka There are both good and bad effects of the internet. I am an optimist _ I believe the internet is helping us in ways we never imagined. Of course, there will be some negative aspects, but it depends on how you decide to use it. When I was studying in a foreign university, there we had apps that helped us with the courses we chose. For example, by using those apps we had access to course outlines, mark sheets, e-catalogues, etc. I think we need that kind of technology in our country. Often, we hear students complaining about being stuck in traffic jams, now with the help of the internet and different apps, they can utilise that time to do something productive. At Dhaka University, we have open Wi-Fi for all the departments. I believe teachers have a larger role to play, we should create awareness among university students because they are mature enough and they can spread that awareness to others. Md Mostafizur Rahman, Parent I have three daughters and all of them have smartphones. I dont interfere with what they want to do. Once you are 18 years old, you are considered an adult and you should decide whats good for you. I personally dont use the internet that much. As a parent, I am aware of some of the negative aspects of the internet. One can always tell the children to use the internet for more productive purposes. I dont see any harm in that. Amirul Islam, Guardian I am a writer and I always support free thinking. Although I never got married, my elder brother has a son and they consider me as his guardian. Before he entered university, I used to keep track of his internet use daily. I would ask him what he learned on the net that day and could he teach me? I cant deny that like most of university students, my nephew loves the internet and he can get extremely angry if he cant get access. That doesnt mean I will ask him not to visit any particular website. Rather, I can give him some positive and bigger picture by telling him about the new language learning website I just visited, for example. I personally use the internet, and I believe as long as no one is causing any trouble to others or the country, its nobodys business as to how one chooses to use the internet. Noirit Mustapha contributed to this article.