[The impact of digital addiction on social health of the youth].

Abstract

The article considers systematized threats to social health of the youth occurring as a result of their dependence from using digital devices and immersion into Internet space. The social health is defined as determined by internal and external factors state of readiness, opportunities and needs of the youth to implement social activities through building communications in society. One of threats undermining social health of representatives of this demographic group is digital addiction, resulting from immersion of the addict in digital environment using various digital devices. Such addiction can cause significant harm to both physical and social psychological health, starting from very young age that is confirmed by results of original empirical study. The most destructive consequence of this type of addiction is degradation of social and cognitive skills in young people, leading to problems with education, socialization, psychological affects, up to complete rejection of existing social norms and values. Such individuals are at most vulnerable to political manipulations in conditions of existing civilizational contradictions. They are, in course of information war, the first ones to be involved in processes destructive for state security. In this regard, it seems reasonable henceforth to profoundly investigate relationship between digital addiction and process of destruction of traditional values in rising generation and to substantiate technology of social immunization a tool to form and develop in the modern youth spiritual moral support, knowledge, skills and abilities to consciously resist destructive impact of digital environment.