Like/Dislike, a documentary published a few days ago by the Spanish study center Funcas, takes a pertinent look at various effects that unbalanced uses of the Internet and mobile technology can have on the mental and emotional health, behavior, and relationships of children and adolescents. Psychologists, sociologists, journalists, educators, and other experts go on to address the dark side of technology, translated into problems such as: addiction, the illusion of time control and multitasking, permanent connectivity, distance and dissociation between digital image/life and real image/life, infoxication and misinformation, impatience, intolerance to frustration… They are far, however, from any demonization of technology. Quite the contrary, what they propose is to educate for a conscious, balanced, and ethical use of technology, as an increasingly indispensable tool in our lives and in the future. This cannot be left solely to the responsibility of some school or teacher who is more aware of the problem, say the specialists. As they point out: how often are we, adults, parents and teachers, fixated on the cell phone instead of interacting with the children and teenagers around us?
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