According to several studies, young people report a much higher level of loneliness, which may be related to excessive screen use. In the last 2 years there has been a significant increase in anxiety and eating disorders in teenagers.
Mihai Copăceanu, one of the most acclaimed Romanian psychologists PHOTO Dorin Constanda
In an interview for “Adevărul”, the well-known psychologist Mihai Copăceanu spoke about the interdependence between the feeling of loneliness and the excessive time spent online, as well as how parents and grandparents should relate to young people who face anxiety.
As the renowned British psychologist Tamara Scully said two years ago, “grandparents can help their grandchildren by being with them, supporting them and staying with them when they are having a hard time. All children benefit from something called relational richness, and this is the most important contribution of grandparents.
Grandparents can create special moments with their grandchildren, they can play together, walk, cook and do activities in the house together. The grandchildren can learn unconditional love and good care, they can learn from the life experience of the grandparents, from their stories, from the beautiful memories and examples”.
With a double degree in theology and psychology from Sibiu, Mihai Copăceanu deepened his psychology studies through research grants at Bologna and two years at Oxford. He also completed a master’s program in addictions at the Institute of Psychiatry (Kings College London) in London.
The truth: How big is the interdependence between loneliness and excessive screen use in young people?
Mihai Copăceanu: We have rigorous research carried out in recent years, we have meta-analyses with hundreds of thousands of participants, we have studies even in Romania that have demonstrated a direct relationship between the excessive use of the screen and the feeling of loneliness. There is no doubt. The longer you stay online, the lonelier you feel. Two years ago, research involving medical students concluded that almost half of the students were found to have moderate to high levels of loneliness. And here we have a paradox, although social networks are used for this purpose, to drive away or reduce our loneliness, to connect with people online, if we use it excessively, this purpose is not achieved. Moreover, we have correlations between excess technology and low self-esteem, depression and sleep disturbances. Loneliness is an emotional state that is a risk factor for other disorders and dysfunctions.
Why are too many young people overdosing on online communication? What can be offline antidotes?
The online environment has a number of advantages, it is particularly attractive and interactive. Online friends are much more available than real-life friends, just a click away at any time of the day or night. I can get in touch with tens, hundreds or thousands of friends, or I can not answer them, if I am not in a favorable mood. i am free But beyond the number of friends I have online, what is relevant is the quality and meaning of relationships. In other words, the key is to be able to develop a quality, deep and supportive social relationship with one or two genuine friends, which is far more psychologically healthy than having a network of thousands of followers and friends.
“Often children hide their emotions in the family, and parents do not notice what children feel and experience”
What approach should parents and grandparents take to children experiencing growing anxiety and eating disorders?
Loneliness in the family is an indicator of the quality of family relationships and how a child feels in the family. I want to remember that children often hide their emotions in the family, and parents do not notice what children feel and feel. There are certain moments of loneliness for every child and adult that are natural and transitory, but we are more concerned when the loneliness becomes chronic and oppressive, when as a student with 25 classmates in the class I still feel alone, even though I talk to them during the break, I can’t open up, I don’t trust them or I don’t have anyone to invite to my house or my birthday. And here is the contribution of parents who, through their unique qualities and through social relations with the parents of their own child’s peers, can banish their own child’s loneliness. In childhood and adolescence children need friends and friendships leave their mark on the child’s development and in a positive sense, there is a positive and healthy environment, we are wrong when we focus only on the negative influence of the environment.
How important are grandparent-grandchild empathy and communication?
Grandparents have a unique value in the family, because through their life experience, through their personal qualities, through their ability to interact with grandchildren, they can contribute to the well-being of grandchildren, including from a very young age. Grandparents can be role models, they can be good teachers and because they are much more permissive and less critical than parents they can represent a beautiful balance and a particularly valuable resource in raising and educating children. I am convinced that the discrepancy between generations, between children and grandparents in many cases is very large to the disadvantage of both generations, the children who grow up in loneliness and the grandparents who live in the same serious feeling of loneliness. Our duty is to bring them into contact much more for the benefit of both generations, for a harmonious development of children and for a high quality of life, longevity and mental health of grandparents.
