The purpose of the master's thesis is to set the theoretical framework and to research the frequency of addiction of children and adolescents to digital technologies and the internet. In the theoretical part of the thesis, I defined the concept of addiction in general and explained it by analyzing the literature written by professionals in the field in the light of excessive use of this medium. As this is an activity the use of which is normal and common among members of
different generations and socio-interest groups for daily tasks, I have set some indicatives and somewhat simplified limits between normal use, abuse and dependence. I first analyzed these phenomena in general, with an emphasis on the use of digital technologies and the internet in the case of children and adolescents. I focused mainly on finding the reasons why these are potentially more vulnerable and as such more prone to overuse. I have supported various expert
views and hypotheses with many studies on the frequency of internet addiction that have been conducted over the last twenty years. In addition, I have presented typical signs of abuse and addiction to digital technologies and the internet, which are essentially similar both in the various professional literature and in identifying potential addiction by a professional therapist. Since the essential difference between addiction to digital technologies and the internet is that
treatment is not and cannot be a complete withdrawal, I concluded with different approaches to helping addicts. In the research work, I wanted to determine and present the prevalence of the phenomenon in Slovenian adolescents. I put the most emphasis on finding out what proportion of young people overuse digital technologies and the internet. I also wanted to find out the main reasons for their (excessive) use. In the end I focused on the new patterns of behavior in relation to digital technologies and the internet brought about by the current health and social situation.
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