How Digital Immersion Is Reshaping a Generation's Reality and Future
Oksana Buryeva, Director of the Khabarovsk Center for Psychological, Educational, Medical, and Social Support, on the Dangers of the Internet:
Recent moves to restrict internet access have sparked concern among many—after all, the web has become deeply embedded in our daily lives. There is no denying that the global network offers an overwhelming wealth of information, much of it vital and beneficial. But the internet also harbors serious dangers. The human brain is wired in such a way that it cannot distinguish between real experiences and their simulations—it processes images as if they were firsthand experience.
Young people who lack their own understanding of life often draw it from virtual reality. An entire generation is being shaped by a distorted formula: you can achieve success, even vast wealth, without lifting a finger—just like many influencers and bloggers.
Why study? Why work? Many young people today are firmly convinced that only losers bother with jobs at all.
They are constantly glued to their phones, oblivious to real life—the subtle shifts in a person's mood, their joy, surprise, or sorrow. A conversation partner might gesture wildly, blush, pale, or suddenly burst into tears. There are countless nonverbal cues that convey emotions beyond words. Yet for today's teenagers, emotional expression is limited to emojis.
Those who come to us for help—people aged 22 to 40—often struggle with personal relationships, workplace conflicts, and tensions with their parents. When we dig deeper to understand the root of the problem, we find that many young adults simply cannot recognize each other's emotions. They never had the chance to develop that skill.
They spend all their time on their phones, missing the richness of real life—the moments when someone is happy, sad, surprised, or delighted.
Of course, we cannot ban teenagers from using the internet outright. But regulating content at the state level—much like China has done—might be the right approach. And we could follow suit.
One of our prominent scientists once said that we should enter the internet with the same caution as we would a nuclear reactor—because it poses terrifying threats, from terrorism and drug propaganda to LGBT recruitment. Adolescents are actively targeted, pushed toward criminal behavior.
Artificial intelligence tracks which sites a teenager visits, what they watch, and sorts potential victims into digital "baskets" based on their interests. Then, strangers—tailored to those interests—begin adding them as friends on social media.
Parents must stay informed and monitor what their children are exposed to online. If a child hides their activity, parents have every right to request their search history. And if they find something alarming, they must take decisive action—pulling their child out of the dangerous web they've been ensnared in.
