SOCIAL MEDIA DEPENDENCE - TOPIC AT A ROUND TABLE IN BULGARIA’S PLOVDIV

Excessive communication in the social media leads to increased risk of dependence, similar to drug abuse. Potential victims of the new dependence are the teens, who spend hours on social networking sites. Many surveys show that when not able to access internet to contact their online relations, some people feel upset and lonely.

At a round table held in the South Bulgarian city of Plovdiv on 25th of November, students, representatives of youth organizations and psychologists from the local municipal council on prevention of substance abuse discussed the risk of social media dependence.

Bulgaria is one of the leaders in use if internet via mobile devices, the participants commented. Seeing young people bending over smart phones and tablets to text and email is rather common. Spending excessive hours in the social networks increases the risk of developing social networking dependence, the specialists say.

For some people social networks are business, but for thousands of young people this is a way to fill in their free time and create virtual acquaintances. According to psychologists, the more informed students are about the potential risks, the less dependent they will be.

There is an increased number of young volunteers in Plovdiv, who actively work to help friends and peers in the fight against various dependences.