Preventing Children's Internet and Smartphone Addiction... Nowon-gu Promotes 'Digital Detox' Project

Systematic and Professional Support from Identifying High-Risk Addiction Groups to Short-Term Intervention and Specialized Treatment

Nowon-gu, Seoul (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will implement a 'Digital Detox' project to prevent internet and smartphone addiction among children and adolescents.

Recently, with the increase in consumption of 'short-form' content that provides entertainment and information in a short time, the number of children and adolescents falling into digital addiction seeking immediate rewards and stronger stimulation is rising.

Accordingly, the district plans to enhance self-awareness and self-regulation regarding internet and smartphone use among children and adolescents.

The Nowon-gu Digital Detox program applies the 'SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) model,' which supports systematic management considering each participant's stage by conducting ▲screening ▲brief intervention ▲referral ▲specialized treatment linkage for high-risk addiction groups, in addition to customized preventive education.

First, customized preventive education is an essential preliminary step of the detox program. Addiction prevention education specialists visit local elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as community child centers that wish to participate in the detox program, to conduct 'NAP Addiction Prevention Education' based on neuroscience.

Notably, a 'customized preventive education plan' reflecting the digital media usage status of Nowon-gu youth is created and utilized. Through various photos and videos based on the latest neuroscience data on brain structure and function and its relation to addiction, students develop awareness of the risks of addiction.

Simultaneously, during this process, a full survey is conducted to analyze students' digital media usage and identify high-risk addiction groups for focused management.

Students classified as 'potential risk group' or higher based on internet usage behavior and scale from the full survey participate in an intensive program consisting of four weekly sessions through brief intervention, with consent from both students and parents.

Students participating in the intensive short-term program use a self-management app to complete weekly daily usage checklists to monitor their internet and smartphone usage patterns and explore alternative activities tailored to each student for practical implementation.

After the program ends, individual result reports are provided to consenting parents to support the long-term maintenance of healthy internet usage habits among students.

For students requiring follow-up care after participating in the brief intervention program, connections to specialized institutions or registration with the Nowon-gu Addiction Management Integrated Support Center are available for ongoing counseling and case management services.

Additionally, the district provides general counseling and outreach counseling services centered on the Nowon Addiction Management Integrated Support Center for high-risk groups and their families dealing with alcohol, internet, and other addiction issues.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok stated, “As a result of continuously implementing internet and smartphone addiction prevention projects for children and adolescents, the risk rate of smartphone addiction among Nowon-gu youth has significantly decreased,” and added, “We hope for active interest and participation from local youth and parents in the youth digital detox project.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.