Authorities set to meet children to curb digital addiction
ANKARA
Authorities are intensifying efforts to combat digital addiction by meeting with children who spend extended periods playing video games.
The initiative is part of a broader strategy to address various forms of addiction, Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş told daily Hürriyet on Aug. 31.
She announced the formation of a new board chaired by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, which will include representatives from the education and interior ministries.
The board is set to hold its first meeting on Sept. 10, with a workshop on digital addiction planned for Oct. 1.
The workshop will feature three separate sessions, beginning with nongovernmental organizations and academics specializing in the subject.
“The second group will include children playing these games,” Göktaş said. “We will try to understand their motivations for the process. We will discuss with them the time they spend in the game, their motivations and the accompanying processes.”
The final session will involve adults, addressing digital addiction from both individual and parental perspectives.
“Digital addiction is not just a process related to children; it also occurs in adults in various ways,” Göktaş said. The sessions will also explore the negative consequences of digital addiction, such as increased divorce rates and instances of suicide.
In addition, the ministry will also address the country's declining population growth rate.
Göktaş highlighted the "urgency of taking action," noting that Türkiye's fertility rate fell to 1.51 last year – the lowest in the nation’s history and significantly below the 2.1 rate needed for population renewal.
“If effective measures are not taken, our population of 85 million is expected to fall to 54 million by 2100,” she warned.
“Holistic and strong family and population policies need to be developed and implemented. This is only possible if all public institutions and organizations act in strong cooperation and coordination in line with the same goal.”
The ministry is also advancing efforts to combat violence against women, Göktaş said, with a national action plan already in place.
A field study on the issue is set to begin in the coming weeks, with the goal of collecting raw data by the end of the year.
This data will be analyzed using artificial intelligence algorithms to proactively identify and address risks of violence, the minister said.
“Our goal is to combat violence against women more effectively and produce new policies with this data,” she added.
