Experts are already comparing the problem to a virus spreading among children and teenagers at an alarming rate—those most vulnerable to flashing, colorful images and susceptible to modern technologies. And it turns out that the source of this deadly “virus” is within everyone’s reach: the screen of a smartphone, tablet, television or computer. The only effective vaccine invented so far is a digital detox.
According to a report by the World Health Organization, someone in the world takes their own life every 40 seconds. Young people unfortunately account for a significant proportion of them. In 2022 alone, based on data from provincial police headquarters across Poland, 2,031 suicide attempts among teenagers were recorded in Poland. At least 150 attempts to take one’s own life had a tragic outcome. In 2021, 1,496 children and teenagers under the age of 18 attempted suicide, and as many as 127 of them died. In 2020, the number of suicide attempts was still around 800, which means an increase of as much as 150 percent in just two years. Over a ten-year period, the increase in this statistic is terrifying—at least tenfold.
A Wave of Young Suicides
Over the course of a decade, there were nearly 7,000 suicide attempts among children and young people. According to data from the National Police Headquarters, one in six suicide attempts made by minors had the worst possible outcome. The alarming data collected by officers show that the youngest suicide victims were between 7 and 12 years old. Unfortunately, experts say the scale of the problem is much greater, because National Police Headquarters data show only those attempts and suicides reported to law enforcement authorities. In reality, there may be several times more of them, leading specialists to a clear conclusion: there is no doubt that Poland is already dealing with a pandemic of suicides among children and young people. The global problem has been recognized by UNESCO, which in the middle of this year’s summer holidays issued an official appeal to ban the use of smartphones in schools. The UN agency for education, science and culture clearly states that existing evidence confirms that excessive mobile-phone use worsens academic performance, while spending long periods staring at a screen negatively affects children’s emotional stability and may lead to drastic actions.
A Silent and Relentless Killer
UNESCO estimates that only one in four of the 200 education systems analyzed worldwide has introduced a ban on using mobile phones in schools, which is why it appealed to the remaining countries. The Netherlands has already announced such a step, while France has already implemented it. In Poland, decisions on this issue are still being considered and debated, although experts firmly say there is no time to wait.
“UNESCO justifies this appeal out of concern for children’s health and development, because technologies used excessively are harmful rather than educational, even though they are supposed to teach, not cause regression. Excessive screen use causes side effects such as depression, suicidal thoughts and self-harm,” says Daniel Dziewit, an addiction therapist. Others agree with him.
“Not every addiction is visible at first glance. An alcoholic usually looks unhealthy, does not smell his best, and may speak incoherently; a drug addict behaves strangely, and their appearance gets worse month by month. Gambling addiction or ‘smartphone addiction’ is different. Its symptoms are much more socially acceptable. A child focused on themselves, quiet, shut away in their room and well-behaved may lull their parents’ vigilance. However, the absence of external symptoms does not mean there is peace inside a young addict. A war is raging in their head, and with each passing day they lose more of their territory of freedom, joy in life and social skills. A young addict does not understand that taking the smartphone from their hand is a fight for their life, not an adult’s spite,” adds Rafał Porzeziński, an addiction-therapy instructor and the creator and host of the television program “Ocaleni”.
Unfortunately, according to Polish therapists, the World Health Organization does not see the problem of the global suicide pandemic. “WHO is doing everything it can to quiet the issue. According to scientists, one should write about the phenomenon of suicide in such a way that, ultimately, one does not write about it. WHO guidelines amount to a suggestion, or even a requirement, not to use the word pandemic. Despite the fact that the number of suicides is increasing year after year and will continue to increase,” emphasizes Daniel Dziewit.
The Deadly Epidemic Process
Addiction specialists thunder that since the World Health Organization created a deadly narrative during the coronavirus pandemic through daily reports on how many people had died from coronavirus, it should now have the courage to say how many people have taken their own lives in order to halt this pandemic suicide process. Raising humanity’s awareness of the spreading epidemic of digital addiction is one thing; far more important are ways of reaching young people in a crisis of wanting to continue living and finding a panacea for their dramatic decisions.
“Digital people do not like restrictions. The youngest in particular—children. If you give a child a toy that is like a bottomless well and then suddenly want to take it away, the opposition will be enormous. In many cases, breaking away from the monitor is impossible,” Daniel Dziewit points out. The expert adds that there are fewer beneficiaries than consumers of the digital pacifier. Numbed digital children abandon their previous passions and find new ones. One is designer drugs, another is narcotics, along with a whole host of dubious health supplements and a false sense of happiness.
Dedigitalization of Digital Addicts
The overwhelming wave of depression, disorders and suicide attempts has its source in “big tech” in the broadest sense. Therapists explain that we can accept this as a cost, a side effect, a price for convenience. The result is a pill for every tablet: first entertainment, then supposed education, and finally substances stimulating the body to normal activity. Therapists explain that this is how sick addicts and codependent families are produced. Hence the increasingly common phenomenon of sadness, a lack of a sense of meaning and purpose, and a lack of hope. Such a digital and modern society cannot also be healthy.
Fortunately, the types of dedigitalization and methods of treating digital addiction in Poland are growing every year. Immediate detox in specialized centers is gaining increasing popularity. One such facility is Prywatne Centrum Terapii Dla Młodzieży Reset, which has
its headquarters near Warsaw. Adults come here asking what they should do with their child, who has stopped going to school, lies in bed with a smartphone in hand or sits at a desk in front of a tablet, leaves the room less and less often, keeps the curtains drawn from dawn to night, and reacts to suggestions to put away the computer and go out among people with aggression or threats of suicide.
The therapy is conducted on an inpatient basis, and withdrawal is abrupt. Reactions after cutting off the patient are often similar: aggression, anxiety, anger, frustration, a sense of emptiness and withdrawal into oneself. Then comes a slow return to oneself and to other people. Ultimately, the detox has a psychoeducational, motivational and constructive dimension. It leads to rebuilding mental and physical well-being, and the young person who until recently was on the verge of death returns to the world of the living.