COVID-19 and the impact of cyber-addiction on young people
9.2.2021
Question for written answer E-000794/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Simona Baldassarre (ID), Silvia Sardone (ID), Matteo Adinolfi (ID), Annalisa Tardino (ID), Francesca Donato (ID)
Millions of students in Europe have been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. With schools closed, the amount of time they spend on their computers, telephones and tablets has risen. This has produced a notable rise in the number of cases of juvenile cyber-addiction, a pathology that can seriously affect mental health, heart rate, family interactions, social activities and make it ever more difficult to distinguish between real life and the virtual world. There are an estimated 300 000 cases in Italy alone, with 79 % of young people between 11 and 18 years old spending more than four hours per day on social networks, a clear indication that prompt action needs to be taken.
In view of this:
- 1.With respect to the EU4Health programme, how will the Commission protect the mental health of young people and help those who are already affected by cyber-addiction?
- 2.How will it ensure quality education for young people, and enable a move away from the adverse effects of addiction to the undoubted advantages of digital innovation?
- 3.Following approval of the directive on workers’ right to disconnect, does it believe that students should be given this right too under the digital education action plan?