Institute Social Opens Its Doors with the First Event

Institute Social, which has been undergoing intellectual preparation for over a year, opened its doors as of November 4.

The Institute, a think tank established to conduct research and training aimed at developing policy recommendations focused on education, society, and the economy, held its first social event on November 4. In the first program of the Reflections from the World Panel Series, which will address chronic and unresolved issues in education, society, and economy, the Institute hosted the renowned American social psychologist Prof. Jean M. Twenge. Twenge, a faculty member at San Diego State University, has over 180 scientific publications and 7 books based on extensive statistical studies conducted between 1966 and 2022.

In the opening speech of the panel, which was the Institute’s first social event, General Coordinator Ipek Coşkun Armağan provided information about the Institute's areas of work and stated that one of the organization’s most important responsibilities is “to increase opportunities for shared consciousness and to tackle the conceptual confusions we experience.” Highlighting that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions, especially in education and social psychology, Armağan emphasized the importance of Twenge's intergenerational research in identifying these points of disruption and developing appropriate policy recommendations.

Prof. Twenge's work draws attention to mass deterioration in American society and societies influenced by American culture. Her 2017 book, "Generation Me," which discusses the lifestyles and habits of Generation Z youth, caused a significant stir. In her talk titled "Understanding the Cross-Generational Differences," Twenge explored how today’s young adults, aged 18-35, mature more slowly, how their time spent with technology affects their lifestyles, and how this new way of life has led to alarming rates of depression and anxiety. According to Twenge, the more time young people spend on the internet, social media, video games, messaging, TV, or video calls, the higher the rates of unhappiness, depression, and melancholy. She emphasized that significant lifestyle changes can improve young people’s mental health, highlighting the need for designated phone-free hours and spaces for children and young people, parental permission and age restrictions for social media use, and limitations on phone use during school hours. For children born in 2012 and later, referred to as digital natives, she suggested delaying the use of smartphones as much as possible, keeping them away from social media until at least 16 years old, and limiting daily screen time to two hours or less. Twenge stressed that parents play a crucial role in breaking the cycles of screen time habits among children and young people.

Institute Social will continue to host events that create productive discussion environments, actively involving the audience, to address chronic and unresolved issues in education, society, and the economy.