Internet Addiction: Articles (21)

Here are a few newspaper articles from Poland about the first short-term meeting in Austria. Thanks to them we aim at making the local community know about the Erasmus+ project and draw conclusions out of what they read. We do hope to spread the idea of Safe Internet Use among the public.

The 26 January, the Swedish students presented the results of the SIFA meeting in Austria to students of grade 8 at the Fridaskolan school in Trollhättan. They showed pictures and films and also shared their personal experiences. The presentation was a good basis for discussions around the internet use in general and internet addiciton - the theme for the project meeting in Austria - in particular. 

In the week after we all came home from Austria the student council had a meeting at Os vgs. One of the Norwegian students who went to Austria, Maria, is the president in the student council. At this meeting Maria told everyone at the meeting what experiences and work had been done in Austria. All of the students in the student council went back to their classes after the meeting and told about the project and the week in Austria.

The Greek team really enjoyed the experience of the meeting in Austria. These are some of the views expressed by the Greek students that participated:

This article from a popular regional paper (Niederösterreichische Nachrichten) describes the SIFA meeting in Ybbs/Austria. It reports about our activities, participants and future plans!

On Monday 5th January 2015, as part of ‘Safe Internet Day’, there was a presentation followed by a talk on one of the topics of Erasmus+ project ‘Safe Internet For All’ (SIFA). The Polish students of L.O. in Grojec listened to a lecture on Internet Addictions, Cyberbullying and Stalking. The presentation was given by a representative of ALTER Personal Development Centre. The participants were made familiar with the definitions of problems, legal issues and statistics. They were also advised on what to do in case they encounter the problem, where to look for help as well as how to avoid being a victim.

We have carried out an experiment. Students were asked not to use their mobile phones for 24 hours and write their comments as a follow-up. Here are some Polish students' impressions after they have spent a day without a mobile phone:

'Most teenagers can't spend an hour without a mobile phone. Smartphones are the biggest cause of this addiction together with internet connection which enables us to use social networking sites through app's or traditional browser versions. Sharing our lives with other people is addictive especially for girls. I don't need my phone all the time and a day without it wasn't difficult experience for me, it was similar to school-free days. I prefer to spend my free time in front of a computer, playing games is my hobby (possibly my addiction). As far as I'm concerned phone-free days like cigarette-free days are a good way to show dangers and time for reflection about "where our habits are going?". I recommend this to everyone even if he/she thinks that everything is allright.'  -   Szymon

'I stopped using my phone at about 5 p.m. yesterday. For me it was a typical day. I spent the day doing my routine tasks. I didn’t have any problems caused by the lack of my cell phone. I went to sleep quite late, at 1 a.m. (mainly because the next day was my day off school). I couldn’t set any alarm clock to wake me up so the next day I woke up at 10.30 in the morning. But at first I didn’t realise it was so late. I wished I had had my mobile phone then. The rest of my day was quite ordinary. I did some homework, surfed on the internet, played with my dog and had my dance classes. I was also in the cinema and there I started feeling strange, because I thought I had lost my phone. But I a moment later knew it was safe. When I got back my phone I noticed I had a lot of notifications. Luckily, nobody had been trying to call me. Only my grandfather had sent me a message. Summarizing, I spent this day in the same way as a normal one. I have got a lot of other hobbies as well…trust me.' -  Kamil

On 21st December Polish Erasmus+ students took part in an Internet forum on e-twinning site (twinspace). The forum was a follow-up to the discussion on different kinds of Internet addictions and ways of solving the problems they cause. The topic of the forum was stated in the following introduction: 'Welcome to the forum. Since the chatroom is not working properly today (technical problems), try to discuss things on the forum. Feel free to ask questions to Inga, Aneta, Daniel and Mateusz about Intenet addictions (topics covered during the visit in Austria). The detailed topics to discuss are: excessive surfing, gaming, gambling as well as excessive use of social networking sites. You can also ask any questions related to the visit in Austria (activities, opinions, cultural differences, etc)'.

OUR MEMORIES FROM ERASMUS+ MEETING IN AUSTRIA 7-13.12.2015

‘In my opinion one of the best aspects of the visit in Austria was staying in the host family. I was given an opportunity to make friends with my host - Sandra, learn about Austrian culture and improve my English. My host family consisted of four members. I'll never forget them! Everyone was really kind and hospitable. Apart from this, there was delicious Austrian food and also a cosy house with the pony 'Lady' outside. 

Besides, the places which we visited are unforgettable! I fell in love with the capital of Austria - Vienna. This international city with its long history and wonderful monuments are really worth a visit!

Frankly speaking, before the meeting in Austria I had been worried because I don't eat meat. Fortunately, we had a great possibility to choose meals. Everyday there were some delicious vegetarian dishes in the menu. I was so lucky!                    

Furthermore, the public transport was really efficient. What we used (train, car, bus, underground) depended on places of work/visit what we used (train, car, bus, underground).

However, the most important thing was integration with Austrian, Swedish, Greek and Norwegian students. We made true friends. I hope, we'll keep in touch. Moreover, our awareness connected with using the Internet in a sensible way has increased and our English language has really improved.

To sum up, the visit in Austria was one of the best experiences in my whole life. Now, I understand why the European Union and great teachers from our school take care about such international projects. I really appreciate it! This is the best gift for students.’

Inga Katana