• Coronavirus, the Net tested for smart working and e-learning

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March 24, 2020 Solitude, disorientation, sense of emptiness. All these sensations are scary, so how to manage what you are feeling in this Coronavirus emergency? "We are experiencing a very delicate moment - explains the psychotherapist Francesca Zazza - the spread of Coronavirus has caused many changes in our lives, triggering anxieties, worries and fears. Trying these experiences is natural. But don't transform the 'right distance' between people in a distance from your emotions and from yourselves, because if you do not come into contact with the emotions that go through us we risk feeling even more loneliness. Emotions are messages from our internal world that come to communicate something to us. Their physiological manifestations could correspond to the notifications of the apps on our smartphones: accelerated heart rate, sweating, feeling of heaviness on the chest, difficulty breathing are like the light, the vibration or the ringtone associated with the messages we receive every day. Unlike those that arrive from social networks and chats, however, if we block or ignore the messages of no these emotions will continue to try to contact us, making their signals more intense and frequent or finding others that we cannot help considering ".

Technological dependence and growing eating disorders
"In some houses, the situation is dramatic: adolescents are increasingly intolerant and nervous, due to forced coexistence, and they no longer listen to their parents. Not finding a way to let off steam, they end up closing themselves in their rooms and staying on the computer or smartphone all the time: this increases the technological dependence ". The psychologist Giuliana Guadagnini, a professor of psychopathology of virtual reality at Iusve, says that she has been managing the listening point for children and parents set up by the territorial school office in Verona since the schools have closed.

"The questions that come to us through the online counter are the most disparate - says Guadagnini -. We go from worried parents because adolescent children continue to go to friends' houses, to alarmed children because with anxiety they get sick and wonder if this is a symptom of the coronavirus. In general, internet addiction is growing: many teenagers feel lonely and look for a company on the net. And the parents excuse them, thinking that the child either goes out or is on a cell phone, two is better than the second. The result is that the kids no longer have schedules or rules: there are those who eat in front of the computer, those who stay connected all night and then sleep late in the morning. They think they are in a space - different weather, as if this were not the real reality. When we return to normal, however, these behaviors will have great consequences ".

With online lessons, then, the kids need to stay connected also to study, do their homework and check the class chats. And this gives them a ready excuse when mom and dad threaten to seize the technological device. By spending the whole day attached to the internet, teenagers exhibit various dysfunctional behaviors. "Many kids spend their days in front of video games like Fortnite, Call of Duty and Minecraft: these are very competitive and in some cases even violent games. While playing, the kids chat with the other players: the parents don't know who is there on the other side and they don't realize the risks. Same goes for chats on dating sites: since there is no possibility of establishing real relationships, virtual relationships have increased. Sexting, sending videos is very widespread or naked or half-naked photos, even among middle school kids. Some plan to run away from home to meet each other personally, but fortunately this rarely happens. All this is an expression of strong unease: among teenagers we are witnessing an increase in self-harm , eating disorders and sleep disorders ". Some advice for families: "The fundamental thing is to listen and open a dialogue that is not judgmental. And then do activities together, trying to intercept the interests of the children. Finally, we keep some rules firm: do not wake up late, eat all together around the table and don't make purchases that aren't necessary. "

Smart working, one Italian out of 5 experiences malaise
Boredom, anxiety, isolation and alienation. These are the most frequent answers of the Italians who participated in the Dire Agenzia survey on 'How Smart Working is going' in Italy at the time of the Covid-19 emergency. One in five respondents said they experienced malaise or psychological distress from the conditions related to agile work in recent weeks. The majority of Italians confirm, however, the trend that has already emerged of a positive approach to smart working. But alienation reigns supreme among the answers, "I think my brain never completely detaches", someone writes and someone else echoes him: "I feel a great mental effort", "I feel strong disinterest, inattention and little motivation" . And, again, there are those who go deep and think: "I feel a strong alienation given by the lack of physical change of places during the day, by the exclusive use of technological communication tools and by the lack of interpersonal contacts".

There are also those who, however, are unable to hold home contacts for much longer and write: "I feel psychological malaise in trying to live with my family while working from home". And the "sense of exhaustion and anxiety" also begin to rise. "I feel excessive stress," comments one interviewee and another increases the dose: "My brain never completely detaches", and the most widespread sensation seems to be that of "a strong stress from hyper control" given by a growing "performance anxiety", as much as the declared "inability to set rigid boundaries between leisure and working time". There is "confusion regarding the times to follow - adds someone - this generates dissatisfaction". It is no coincidence that 30% of respondents perceive that they "work more than usual". From the more than 50 interviewees who declare psychological distress in these weeks, the component of the brutality also emerges: "We let ourselves go - someone writes - no make-up, tied hair and overalls. In the long run it is not good", "better work at home - adds another - here at home I get brutal. " And finally, the absence of sociability, "the lack of daily relationships with colleagues", the impossibility, specifies an interviewee, "to compare myself at work", and therefore a great "absence of relationships remains personal. "