As recognition of children's dependence on the Internet has expanded, "countermeasure camp" is gaining attention. Apart from electronic equipment such as smartphones, by trying to stay in nature, it is an attempt to make a chance to keep a proper distance with the net.
A girl living in the Kanto region (18) passed this spring one of the six Tokyo universities. When I was a junior high school student, I became nonsnowing school and living a life immersed in the net, but after I joined the Internet dependent measures camp, I got over it.
In June of junior high school, suddenly I felt dizzy and fell down at school. At the hospital I was told that "cause is not stress", but I did not recognize it.
At the same time, I bought a smartphone. Although I was absent from school at first due to illness, gradually to spend the day with games and surfing the net. Life reversed day and night, while my family was sleeping, I ate rice and slept again in the dawn. The school was absent for over 100 days.
A mother (50) who thought that "the cause of school refusal is a net" tried to pick up a smartphone or restrict communication. The girl who resisted each time said, "I am confused everyday and I do not remember well about that time."
In the autumn of that year, Mother and Child participated in "Net Dependence Camp" at the National Shinshu Takato Youth Nature's Home in Ina City, Nagano Prefecture. In the schedule of 2 nights and 3 days, electronic devices such as smartphones are prohibited to bring in. Two other family members, doctors, NPO corporate directors familiar with supporting school refusal, and others were also added. Probably it was my first attempt in Japan.
"What happens by using the net?" At the workshop where the child participated, the girl initially had few words. However, in the conversation, gradually "ties to people decreased", "I concentrated on the net world, making it difficult to see around" became to speak.
Everyone counted constellations before going to bed at 9:30 pm. "There are so many stars." The girl was staring at the night sky forever.
After going to high school, I was able to enter the dormitory near the school by the teacher 's teacher' s attitude. School attendance time was shortened and life rhythm improved, so that I could gradually go to school. Utilizing an application that measures time using smartphones, the use time has been reduced to two hours a day. I also made new friends and began to speak anything.
From now on, I told that during the junior high school days, "I was too todd at school and at home." I was making friends with my friends on the surface, but in reality he was not good at group activities. "I concealed the tenority also to myself, because I become uneasy when I think about it, I was on the net to escape."
Living has not changed completely through camping. However, he says, "I felt the charm of the real world and I thought of doing things there." Now I study law at university. In the future, I will support children of school refusal, and I'd like to say that "If you want to change, you can change." (Yamada Yana)
■ dependent camp, 5 nationwide ...