Page 53 - KNJIGA SAŽETAKA

INOVACIJE I IZAZOVI U OBRAZOVANJU I SESTRINSKOJ SKRBI - KNJIGA SAŽETAKA

Virtual New World

The rapid development of digital technology, computerization and artificial intelligence
condition progress in many areas (medicine, education, industry, economy…). The way of life
we used to know is changing and requires adaptation, acquisition of new knowledge and skills.
Generations Z and Alpha live surrounded by technology from the earliest days, and such system
of growing up has its advantages and disadvantages. Avilability of information and networking
offer faster ways of learning and easier earning. Digital dementia, digital autism, internet
addiction, computer vision syndrome, tech neck (changes in the neck spine caused by excessive
use of modern technology), increase in obesity (due to sedentary lifestyle) and mental disorders
(result of alienation and other factors) are just a few from the problems affecting these
generations. As nurses and teachers, can we change aything at all or are we futilely resisting the
modern, technological understanding of the world?
An anonymous survey was conducted among students from grades 1 to 5 of the Vinogradska
Nursing School. The aim of the survey was to determine the lifestyle, and to examine the
attitudes of students regarding the use of social networks and applications.
245 students participated in the anonymous survey. Digital technology, social networks and
applications are mostly used by students to communicate with friends (90.6%), listen to music
(89%), have fun and when they are bored (75.5%). Social networks are regulary used by 73.1%
of the students. Most sudents use four social networks (29%), the most popular of which are
Instagram (87.3%), Snapchat (73.8%), TikTok (71%) and WhatsApp (59.1%). Although social
networks are an important part of their lives, they are mostly in the role of the observers, as
only 4.9% of students publish content regulary. Media and social networks somewhat influence
the mood of students (54.7%) and mostly positively (47.8%). The largest number of students
(45.7%) spend 2–4 hours a day online. A lot of students (62%) had unpleasant experiences with
social networks, most often unwanted reciving and requesting explicit photos and videos
(31.8%), attempts at financial fraud (12.2%) and cyberbullying (8.2%). Due to the use of mobile
phones, 46.5% of students have difficulty waking up, 52.7% sometimes have problems with
completing their duties, and 31.4% of students have conflicts with their parents. Of particular
concern is the fact that 66.5% of students play games on their mobile phones and 35.1% of
students never read books (apart from the compulsory school literature). Some form of
discomfort when meeting new people is experienced by 71.4% of students, 51.8% belive that
they have more understanding of a virtual environment than a real environment, and 57.1%
cannot imagine their life without the Internet.

Key words: digital technology, nurse, teacher

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