Psychologists pledge to remould mindsets of youths

The Nigerian Association of Social Psychologists has pledged to encourage the youth to make positive use of the internet and reduce rising cases of social vices in the country.

The President of the association, Prof. Shyngle Balogun made the pledge at the 3rd Annual Scientific Conference and the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association held at Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu on Thursday.

The theme of the conference is: "Cyber Psychology and Social Networking: Social Psychological Implications".

Balogun, who was represented by Dr Emenike Anyaegbunam from the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike in Ebonyi expressed dismay at the moral decadence that plagued the society due to advanced and advancing technologies.

According to him, we now witness cases of people being bullied, raped, changes in social interaction, high tech crime and so on, all due to the global world we live in now, courtesy of the internet and many search engines.

"The idea behind the internet was to facilitate easy and fast communication worldwide and also help in information search and dissemination.

"What we see now, is that people, especially our youths and adolescents, have turned the instrument of development to an instrument with which to perpetuate evil against mankind.

"Our youths now dress in an un-African way, copy negatively the ways and lives of the so-called celebrities; live a pseudo lives, just too many to talk about," he said.

Balogun thanked the university and the local organizing committee of the conference for 'brilliant planning and organistion' as well as providing all to make the conference and AGM a huge success.

In a keynote paper presentation, Dr Emmanuel Ugwu, the traditional ruler of Okwe Kingdom in Ibagwa Nike, Enugu, challenged parents, guardians and caregivers to check the addiction of children to the internet and internet applications.

Ugwu urged parents to strictly monitor the use of internet-enabled devices at home and ensure that children did not engage in any negative use of the internet or visiting unhealthy sites/programmes on the internet.

"Also, there is a need to focus on what it is actually about the internet that children and adolescents find addictive.

"The internet addict may not be addicted to the internet per se, but addicted to the application, emotional state or mental response that is received from online behaviours," he noted.

The Enugu State Chairman of the association, Dr Solomon Agu, defined cyber-psychology as a field of study or research for scholars and psychologists because of its relevance to human mind and behavior.

Agu explained that cyber-psychology was no longer an emerging field, but rather a stand-alone established discipline within the behavioural sciences, as technology had dramatically changed the way we work, interact with each other and spend our free time.

He also welcomed the members and participants to Enugu and wished them a fruitful deliberations, adding: "We also urge you to take time out and explore the serenity, beauty and welcoming environment of Enugu".

The members and participants to the conference are drawn from academia as well as the private and public world.