Psychotherapist Sahba Al-Khader told "Sham": useless content threatens the psychological stability of teenagers, and repeated viewing of it normalizes harmful behaviors.
Details: The psychotherapist Saba Al-Khader confirmed in an interview with the Duma news network that the effect of non-purposeful content is related to the nature and frequency of its exposure, in addition to the age of the recipient and his family and social environment, and emphasized that these effects are not inevitable and do not apply to all young people to the same extent. Al-Khader explained that non-purposeful content includes material that encourages violence, bullying, exploitation and the reduction of human relations for appearance and profit, and warned that repeated viewing of these behaviors in an entertainment format gives them familiarity and gradually turns them into seemingly normal practices. I showed that observational learning prompts some young people to imitate controversial figures, while likes and views lead to the improvement of negative interaction patterns as a source of feelings of appreciation and social attention. She noted that presenting exaggerated images of beauty and success perpetuates social comparison and a sense of dissatisfaction with oneself, and relying on fast and exciting content weakens the ability to pay attention and patience and strengthens the desire for immediate reward. She added that some children and adolescents acquire behaviors based on sarcasm and verbal aggression to achieve interaction, pointing out that presenting fame as a criterion for success reduces the value of effort and persistence and threatens the concepts of trust and responsibility. She explained that the attraction of young people to superficial content stems from psychological needs such as the search for belonging and acceptance among their peers and identity exploration, and emphasized that treatment requires understanding these motives and providing suitable alternatives instead of simply blaming and attacking the viewers. She emphasized that protecting children is not achieved through prevention and strict censorship alone, and called on parents to build a safe dialogue to discuss what their children are watching, to focus on the quality of the content and to promote critical thinking by dismantling the hidden messages of the content creators. Al-Khader called for the integration of media and digital education in curricula to teach students the skills of verifying information and avoiding manipulation of emotions, in addition to exercising the role of experts in organizing awareness programs and providing alternative activities such as sports, arts and volunteer work to increase realistic interaction. for more