All news

Internet addiction ranks among major risks for adolescent health — minister

According to the Federal Mental Health Research Center, about 6% of all teenagers in Russia were addicted to computer and Internet

MOSCOW, May 27. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova has warned that adolescent addiction to computer and virtual reality has significantly increased over the last years, ranking among the major risk factors for their mental health.

“In addition to well-known risk factors for children’s and adolescents’ health, a number of new factors came to the fore over the last years. This is, first of all, computer and Internet addiction,” Skvortsova told a meeting of the Coordination Council for Implementing the National Children's Strategy for 2012-2017 on Tuesday.

According to the Federal Mental Health Research Center, about 6% of all teenagers in the country were addicted to computer, which “leads to severe mental health problems and social maladjustment, autism spectrum disorders and other psychosomatic disturbances,” Skvortsova said.

“Considering total informatization, computerization and IT development, our task is to actively involve adolescents in real events of the current life,” she said. “These events, and not computer games, should form their emotional sphere," Skvortsova stressed.