How Internet Habits Affect Health And Mood?

KEY POINTS:

1 – Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Al-Sawaha announced that the country ranks seventh globally in 5G technology and internet speeds.
2 – 95.7% of Saudi Arabia’s 34.8 million people are connected to the Internet, both online and offline.
3 – In collaboration with the British company Social Impact Corporation, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Mouda Society for Family Development has launched a campaign in Makkah entitled “Use it, don’t get used to it”.

Saudi Arabia Ranked 7^th Globally In Data Usage And Data Speed Due To The High Number Of Expats:

According to Arab News, with the rise of social media content and the boom in the online gaming industry, people living in Saudi Arabia are more connected to the Internet than ever before.

As Saudi Arabia progresses, 95.7% of its 34.8 million people have access to the Internet. Increasing reliance on the Internet has dramatically changed the way ordinary people communicate with each other.

Earlier this year, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Al-Sawaha announced that the country ranks seventh globally in 5G technology and internet speed due to the large demand of Internet by expats.

This speed means that more people connect to it, which makes it possible to stay online longer than necessary.

What Is This Campaign about?

In collaboration with the British company Social Impact Corporation, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Mouda Society for Family Development is launching a campaign in Makkah. It is title “Use it, don’t get used to it“.

The purpose of this campaign or survey is to shed light on the emerging problem of internet addiction. Mainly social media and online gaming, as well as the socio-economic impact on the country.

Dr. Moin Al-Tanji, a data and social impact specialist, and Tania Gupta, director of data science engineering and analytics at marketing agency MRM, who studied Internet social science at Oxford University, led this campaign

More than 1,200 participants took part in the survey.
The results show that 46% of people spend two to five hours a day on internet.
The percentage of people who spent more than six hours a day on the Internet was 36 %. However, only 6% spent less than an hour on social media or online games.

What Are The Habits Due To Excessive Usage Of The Internet?

Muhammad al-Radi, director-general of the Al-Mouda Society, said he launched this campaign \ found to raise awareness among a large segment of society about the dangers of internet addiction and treatment options through various media channels.

Even Though, it is not a disease, the Director-General said that Internet addiction is due to its habitual compulsion. It limits an individual’s other responsibilities in various spheres of society, family and life. Does
One of the main reasons for the habit of this technology is the lack of communication between individuals and problems. This is mainly due to changes in mood and behaviour.
When it comes to social media, games, browsing websites, pornography and online shopping, this habit also affects mental health.

How To Break The Habit Of The Internet In A Positive Way?

Mohammed al-Radi has suggested setting up counselling centres to treat the addiction to the technology and to limit the use of the Internet as a positive way to break the habit, especially for children.
He said that trainers and parents needs to put strategies in place to control the use of internet use.
Social programs should help overcome this particular type of habit and focus on promoting technology that partners with society.