Erasmus Project: Be Connected But Don’t Be Dependent

In the district of Kozan in Adana, within the scope of an Erasmus project prepared by the teachers and students of Ismet Inonu Middle School, the project named ‘Be Connected, But Don’t Be Addicted’ ranked among the top 8 out of 452 projects in Turkey. Teachers and students came together with children from various countries to establish digital connections to find solutions for digital addiction.

Project Content and Participants

Having implemented numerous projects, the teachers and students of Kozan Ismet Inonu Middle School met with students from Poland and Italy to discuss the issue of digital addiction in their countries and exchange ideas on solutions to combat addiction in their own countries.

Project Coordinator and Mobilities

School principal Levent Çörekli stated, ‘Our application to the Turkish National Agency was accepted. With the project ‘Be Connected, But Don’t Be Addicted,’ we were awarded a grant as the 1st among the 8 approved projects out of hundreds of projects considered valuable in Turkey.’ Teacher mobilities were carried out in Italy and Poland within the scope of the project.

Students’ Observations and Contributions

Students noted that digital addiction is more prevalent among young people in Turkey, while in Europe, they observed that European youth use digital platforms to access information while combating addiction.

Student Experiences and Evaluations

Mediha Yılmaz expressed, ‘Addiction is more common among young people in Turkey. We observed that young people abroad use digital platforms more for accessing information, whereas unfortunately, young people in our country mostly use social media for entertainment.’ Speaking on cyberbullying, Öykü Aydın said, ‘We all experience digital addiction, but we have solutions. We share many common views, such as staying away from digital devices and spending time with friends outside.’