Stressful digital disconnection
Ph.d candidate Mehri Agai has spoken to El Paìs about how digital disconnection is more demanding for adolescents than adults.
Main content
A private school in Torrelodones (Madrid), has taken the war against mobile phones in classrooms in a creative direction. At the school, students carry their cell phones locked in cloth bags with a security magnet closure. Every morning and afternoon, students wait in line with their bags to pass by the magnet by the door, held by a pair of teachers.
La Pais - Spain's largest newspaper - spoke to Bergen Media Use Group's ph.d candidate Mehri S. Agai for insight into what digital disconnection and mobile-free periods of time mean to teenagers.
"In terms of self-control", says Mehri, "bags can help some people because they eliminate the immediate temptation to look at their mobiles, which reduces distractions. However, for others, not being fully available can be a stressful factor".
"These periods of digital disconnect - they require more effort for adolescents as a group," Agai says. "The reason is that they depend on the digital world for their leisure, socialization and, more importantly, in their attempts to form their identity. They have grown up in a world where digital technology is ubiquitous, he adds."
