Gadgets have become a part of our life nowadays, especially in COVID-19 pandemic era. The limitation of direct interaction and communication, indirectly make technological devices such as smart phones, tablets and laptop become a necessity for us to work, attending school’s classes or just communicate.
According to the phenomenon, Friday (27/11) Center for Public Mental Health (CPMH) Faculty of Psychology UGM held an online public lecture that raised a topic about Internet, Children and Gadget. This event is expected to be able to provide an overview of the effects of using gadget and how to use the internet wisely.
The event was attended by students and general public. This time, CPMH once again give the opportunity to Nurul Kusuma Hidayati, M.Psi., Psikolog and Wirdatul Anisa, M.Psi., Psikolog to become the speakers for the session.
In the presentation, the speaker said that inside the family, sometimes internet and gadgets can create a limit in communicating within members. For example, parents who are too busy to communicating on WhatsApp or children who are addicted to play games will have limited time to interact. Besides, the internet can also be a place for children to access pornography or a place where bullying can happened.
However we use it properly, the internet and gadget can become an alternative to learn and explore broader knowledge, also people can hone creativity and interaction skills.
Therefore, “Open communication within the family is the key for parents to be able to monitor what their children are learning through their gadget” said Nurul Kusuma Hidayati, M.Psi., Psychologist.
After the presentation, the event was closed with question and answer session with the speakers, guided by the moderator.