"The correct use of new technologies involves educating, not prohibiting. Educating about the dangers, and the preventive and risk behaviors". These are the words of the professor of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Esther Rincón, who highlights the importance of "explaining, from positive psychology, adapting our language to the age of the minor, understanding their world, respecting and validating their emotions, in an environment of Socratic dialogue and construction of rules and the consequences of their infringement".

Dr. Rincón points out the importance of educating the agents involved in the care of our teenagers and youth; of "providing health workers, teachers, and parents with the necessary tools to filter, so we can get to know the "enemy" better, in order to combat it while, at the same time, being aware of its wonderful potential if well used in our society, as in, for example, digital health".

The professor and course director of the Master’s Degree in Innovation and Digital Health at the University warns that "we adults have given minors keys to the latest hi-tech car and we have opened the door for them to get him, without really knowing how the car works, if they will know how to use it properly, or even if it will be dangerous for them". A vehicle which is "apparently harmless and immensely pleasurable for the minor as, while they are using it, they are having fun and are calm". However, indicates the expert, "it is necessary to analyze whether behaviors carried out as a form of entertainment, such as chatting with friends or posting content on a social network, end up becoming a necessity".

This analysis is important since "non-use can generate significant discomfort in the subject, provoking usage in order to reduce this discomfort, and greater time dedication, in spite of an entailing variety of negative consequences (family, educational, or economic)". To this effect, remarks the psychologist, "aggressive behaviors of minors, consequent to the prohibition or impossibility of access to new technologies, are alarm signals to be taken into account and suitably evaluated, as they can be indicators of a non-responsible use of such technological tools". For this reason, "when a minor behaves in a clear and directly aggressive manner, whatever the device may be to which he or she is denied access (mobile, tablet, computer or similar), similar violent behaviors will undoubtedly have occurred previously, and should have been firmly corrected", affirms the doctor.

Professor Rincon defines as addictive behavior, in relation to new technologies, those behaviors that are carried out as a form of entertainment, for example, chatting with friends or posting content on a social network, but which, as they are perpetuated over time, become "a necessity", so that their non-execution can generate significant discomfort in the subject, provoking execution to reduce this discomfort, and increased time dedication, in spite of an entailing variety of negative consequences (family, educational, or economic). However, she indicates that the boundaries between what is considered a "normal" behavior and a "pathological" behavior are not clearly established.

According to the expert, the magnitude of the "problem" is that "it is advancing at much greater speed than the means to regulate it, not only on a scientific level but also on an ethical and legal one". In addition, she points out that in this process of educating, it is essential to provide health workers with useful tools so they can diagnose and treat these disorders precisely as well as providing our teachers with the necessary strategies to tackle the prevention of the problem in the classroom.

Addiction to new technologies is one of the main concerns of the new Institute for the Studies of Addictions IEA-CEU of the University, led by Professor Luis Fernando Alguacil.