CONTEXT The internet has become an integral part of children and young people’s lives. However, the increased time spent online is prompting questions about whether they are in control of their internet usage and if they are aware of the side effects and the causes of the maladaptive behaviours related to excessive Internet use. Even if youngsters are not addicted, recent European research analysis has shown that it is not always or not only the time spent online that makes internet use problematic and ‘excessive’, but the impact of internet use on what might be called a ‘balanced life’. Excessive online exposure may affect physical health, children’s ability to stay focused leading to poor school or academic performance negatively impacts their emotional well-being and it may also be related to lower empathy and social well-being or abstention from physical and offline social interactions. OBJECTIVE GameOFF has as primary objective to produce approaches and tools to help those working with young people reach out to them with a view to help them adopt a balanced approach to technology use by gaining a deeper understanding and interpretation of causes, risks, and effects of constant online commitment and by identifying and reacting to addictive formulas. PARTNERS The partnership consists of a company offering bespoke software development services to governmental agencies and private companies (P5-CIVIC), a university (P4-NTU) specialising in Internet Addiction related problems, a technical and training consulting SME (P3-AKNOW), and 3 training organisations (P1-E-Juniors, P2-INNOHUB, P6- RightChallegne) ACTIVITIES The main objective will be achieved through the following activities leading to concrete results: - Elaborate and validate a training approach to train youngsters on the identification and interpretation of causes, risks, and effects of constant online commitment based on personalised user profiles - Design and develop a serious game based on the training approach which will be used by trainers to support the young trainees in their journey towards screen time moderation. - Design campaigns to raise awareness of the importance of a balanced approach to media and technology. - Reach out to youth trainers and youth organisations with the aim of increasing smart and thoughtful and focused use of technology - Develop and test a set of 'best practices' & recommendations. METHODOLOGY An iterative methodology under which three versions of results will be produced in three iterations. After each iteration, the results will be validated in workshops with teachers and children and based on the conclusions the next iteration will be planned. RESULTS - 5 country reports on the state of play in the participant countries - A Training methodology for youth trainers to engage in a learning dialogue with youngsters about IAB - A serious game to empower young people - Online Resources under creative commons license. - Publications, conferences, promotional videos, online campaigns, and recommendations programme. TARGET GROUP The direct target groups in the life of the project comprise young people (16-25) and youth trainers. Apart from these direct target groups, the beneficiaries comprise also indirect target groups such as youth organisations, parents, youth's associations, policymakers and educational stakeholders. After the life of the project and subject to the delivery of concrete results, more target groups become relevant, such as commercial organisations producing serious games and universities with pedagogical departments. BENEFITS Embracing a balanced approach to media and technology by youngsters includes thoughtful and intentional uses of media and technology, prioritization of focusing on a single task and not multitasking in educational, work, or social contexts, and recognition of the importance of face-to-face communication, in addition to online communication, in supporting rich social relationships.
L’objectif principal de GameOFF est de produire des approches et des outils et ressources pour aider les personnes travaillant avec les jeunes (animateurs jeunesse, parents, représentants d'organisations etc.) à aider ces derniers à adopter une approche équilibrée de l’utilisation des technologies en acquérant une compréhension et une interprétation plus approfondies des causes, des risques et des effets d’un engagement constant en ligne et en identifiant et en réagissant aux éventuels comportements dépendants. De ce fait, des modules de formation et des guides dédiés aux jeunes mais aussi aux personnes en lien avec les plus jeunes ont été créés. Par ailleurs, GameOFF a pour but de développer un jeu sérieux qui peut être utilisé pour promouvoir une attitude plus consciente et raisonnée sur Internet pour lutter contre la dépendance en ligne.
De nos jours, Internet est devenu une partie intégrante de la vie des enfants et des jeunes. Cependant, l’augmentation du temps passé en ligne les amène à se demander s’ils contrôlent suffisamment leur utilisation d’Internet et s’ils sont conscients des possibles effets secondaires engendrés. De même, une utilisation excessive peut causer des comportements inadaptés. Une récente analyse réalisée au niveau européen a démontré que ce n’est pas toujours ou pas seulement le temps passé en ligne qui rend l’utilisation d’Internet problématique et “excessive”, mais l’impact de l’utilisation d’Internet sur ce que l’on pourrait appeler une “vie équilibrée”. Une exposition excessive à Internet peut avoir des conséquences sur la santé physique, la capacité des jeunes à rester concentrés, ce qui entraîne de mauvais résultats scolaires ou académiques, a un impact négatif sur leur bien-être émotionnel et peut également renvoyer à une diminution de l’empathie et du bien-être social ou à une absence d’interactions sociales et physiques réelles.