Beware of Digital Fatigue!

As the use of technological devices increased in Türkiye, as around the world, partly due to the pandemic, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced that internet use among people aged 16-74 was 79 percent in 2020. Again according to the survey, home internet access, which was 88 percent in 2019, rose to around 90 percent in 2020. Assessing the results of a 2020 study on the subject by Brandon McDaniel and his team, Assist. Prof. Dr. Seda Gökçe Turan, Head of the Department of Child and Youth Services at Bahçeşehir University, said: "Couples or spouses report using technological devices (email, phone, computer, etc.) 69 percent of the time when they are together, and we see that this affects their communication negatively. With the increase in working from home, we also see that technology use at home has increased. Digital fatigue will negatively affect a person's communication with their friends and social circle without them even realizing it."

"Emails and long meetings can negatively affect marriage"

Noting that in addition to their tiring effect, technological devices also have aspects that relax and entertain people or help them make good use of their free time, Assist. Prof. Dr. Seda Gökçe Turan said: "When couples sometimes spend time alone in digital environments, play online games, do meditation or yoga, or simply have a video call with a friend abroad, they can genuinely feel better and more rested. This time they set aside for themselves can actually lead them to invest more and better-quality energy in their relationships. However, especially during the pandemic, this prolonged use of technological devices with working from home, people becoming dependent on computers and mobile phones due to uncertainties, emails arriving at irregular hours and long meetings will affect the quality of communication in marriage. From the perspective of single people, the situation is not very different. Digital fatigue will negatively affect a person's communication with their friends and social circle without them even realizing it. The effect on a person of having fun spending time alone in digital environments is not the same as constantly waiting for emails or calls. Our aim should never be to remove technology from our lives."

"Constantly following the news negatively affects communication"

Noting that increased use of technology can have both positive and negative effects on family communication, Turan said: "This is where the term 'technoference,' which refers to communication being disrupted by intensive use of technological devices, comes in. By intensive technology use we should not understand only social media or phone use. Online games, constant work emails, following daily news pathologically and constantly, being online all the time for fear of missing out, following news sites and constantly searching health news are also factors that negatively affect family communication. Constantly using technological devices instead of talking and paying attention to one another will undoubtedly reduce or negatively affect communication. On the other hand, the family getting together to choose and watch a film or looking at family photos on social media accounts are, on the contrary, activities that will increase and reinforce sharing within the family. We must not forget that we live in the age of technology. Integrating technological devices into our lives in a way that supports or enhances communication is very important. If we remove technological devices from our lives because they reduce communication, this too may lead us to question how much quality time the family spends together."

"Making remote work permanent could be a problem"

Speaking about the effect of very intensive use of technological devices due to working from home in short-term and sudden situations, Assist. Prof. Dr. Seda Gökçe Turan said: "If this situation becomes permanent, technology addiction and making remote working models permanent before employees are ready will be a problem for married or single individuals. Therefore, conscious technology use and in-service training that explains the negative as well as the positive aspects of technology will be effective. Family communication is not such a 'one-dimensional' concept that it can be affected by the use of technological devices alone. So if communication problems have increased in a family, we should not attribute this only to technology. Technoference, that is, the disruption of communication due to the use of technological devices, is now a very common situation. For this reason, it is very important, especially for newly married couples, to be informed and aware of technoference in order to protect or improve the quality of their relationships."