By the end of 2022, Vietnam will have more than 70 million internet users (accounting for more than 70% of the population) through various platforms. In particular, the internet access rate of young people is increasing with 40% of users under 25 years old.

According to research by the Institute of Mental Health (Bach Mai Hospital), the age of first internet use in Vietnam is over 10 years old. The average internet usage time is over 3 hours per day, accounting for a high proportion (51.3-71.6%), of which the longest time is up to 15 hours/day. The most common internet usage tool is mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.), accounting for 98.2%.

The press conference was held at the Institute of Mental Health (Bach Mai Hospital).

According to specialist doctor II Bui Nguyen Hong Bao Ngoc, Deputy Head of the Department of Substance Use and Behavioral Medicine, Institute of Mental Health (Bach Mai Hospital), internet addiction has a negative impact on thinking development. Studies show that there is less effort to store information in the brain when using the internet, instead of remembering where the information is taken from, reducing contemplation and reducing the ability to store information. Therefore, people become increasingly lazy in cognition and have passive thinking...

Dr. Nguyen Thanh Long, Department of Substance Use and Behavioral Medicine, Institute of Mental Health shares about the harmful effects of internet addiction.

Information from the press conference also showed that internet addiction can originate from psychological conflicts in adolescence, due to the psychological development of wanting to become adults, wanting to be respected, but parents educate with whips or imposition, leading to loneliness, dissatisfaction, depression, from which they turn to playing online games as a way to express themselves and their emotions. In addition, the lack of space and places to play is also a reason why children depend on the internet and games for entertainment.

According to Dr. Nguyen Thanh Long, Department of Substance Use and Behavioral Medicine, Institute of Mental Health, (Bach Mai Hospital), patients addicted to online games often have some common symptoms such as mental disorders, behavioral disorders. In order to limit dependence on the internet, especially children, when online learning is taking place more and more, parents need to pay more attention to their children. Parents need to be aware of the content that children are viewing on the internet so that they can manage and control it; in addition, adults must set an example for children in using the internet properly and at a reasonable time. Parents also need to create a harmonious family environment, easy to share with each other so that children can develop in a healthy psychological environment.

News and photos: HOANG CHUNG

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