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Polish psychiatrists warn constant digital immersion is stressing Generation Z and Alpha

17.06.2025 09:00
Heavy use of virtual reality, social media and online gaming is reshaping how Polish children and teenagers perceive the world and regulate emotions, heightening mental-health risks, the daily Rzeczpospolita reported on Tuesday.
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For many members of Generation Z and the younger Alpha cohort, the internet is not merely a parallel universe but an “alternative” one that can eclipse offline life, the paper said, citing clinicians.

“Today’s environment is so complex and information-saturated that young people are overstimulated,” said Prof. Janusz Heitzman of Warsaw’s Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology.

“They need support—yet often don’t get it at home, because families inhabit a different reality.”

Parents, he added, typically do not understand the “digital language” of messaging apps and VR platforms their children use, leaving adolescents to seek guidance online—even for basic questions such as “how to live.”

(jh)

Source: PAP, Rzeczpospolita