Symposium Summary

We live in a digitised world. Information and communication technologies are present in our social, professional and academic life. Their presence is such that they even become an indispensable element for the advancement of society. This has led to today’s generations being considered digital (Díaz-Lázaro, Solano and Sánchez, 2017). Society, in general, encourages them to consume the services available on the Internet. Thus, the development of products such as social software (TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest...), online gaming, video streaming platforms such as Netflix, HBO, Atresmedia, etc., have been increasing their consumption by young people, adolescents, and children. In addition to this, the prices of the companies providing the connection have fallen, as well as the availability to connect for free to the Wifi in both their schools and leisure centres.

In 2016 the National Institute of Statistics indicated that 95% of Spanish adolescents, with an age range of 10-15 years, were connected to the Internet every day. These data support the fact that today a change in the behaviour of children, adolescents, and youths in their relationship with technologies is systematically taking place. Consequently, today it is no longer unimportant to talk about technology addiction, that is, techno-addictions.

The literature on the topic has led to the determination of problematic use of the devices and the line that focuses on addiction to the services mentioned above. That is why, although the community agrees to point out the existence of a "problem" it is necessary to unify criteria about what is really being talked about.

The objective of this symposium is to clarify the state of the art and generate debate around it in order to assume if we are talking about addictions or problematic use of digital devices, and in any case to know the initiatives that are being carried out.

Short CV

Verónica Marín Díaz, senior lecturer at the University of Cordoba, director of the EDMETIC research group (SEJ 623), editor of Edmetic, Revista de Educación Mediática y TIC (http://www.uco.es/ucopress/ojs/index.php/edmetic/index), reviewer for the Andalucía Agency of Knowledge (AAC), member of the Learning Action de Educational Technology Chair at the University of Malaga.