One of the most serious problems that crosses our society in the digital environment is digital gambling, which covers many social sectors, but especially the youth due to the growing increase of users in recent years.
Whether legal or illegal, they are generating serious problems for many families and individuals. The myths that try to legitimize themselves such as: "If you bet you can win a lot of money", "If you keep betting you will recover the money you lost", "You only need a big win to pay off your debts", make it difficult for those who are immersed to leave, as they are also attractive phrases for those who see friends or relatives betting. Digital gambling or cyber gambling addiction: "It is an addiction that affects all social classes with a higher incidence in adolescence, especially among boys," says a report of the program Con Vos en la Web, of the Ministry of Justice of the Nation.
Thus, we will take some statistical data published in October 2024 by the "Defensoría del Pueblo" (Ombudsman's Office) of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (ARG). The survey is called "Adolescents and online gambling. Diagnosis of a phenomenon that transcends the digital environment". It is an interesting background, since the survey was carried out in 25 secondary schools, both state and private, with the participation of 2,765 students between 12 and 19 years old.
The results of the survey are worrying, as it shows that "1 in 4 students participated in online gambling at least once", with male students being the most frequent participants in online gambling (71% are male and 25% female, with 4% identifying with other genders). This data gives us a picture of the situation, as it shows how close digital gambling is for teenagers.
At the same time, as they grow older, the frequency of gambling increases, with older students having the highest frequency of participation (in the last three years of high school, 28.5% of students have placed a bet).
Likewise, easy access makes it possible to gamble from anywhere, since the casino is an extension of us.
Thus, this study has the value of demystifying the idea that adolescents gamble in schools, since 10% do it from there, while 48% do it from their homes, which is related to the way in which they reached digital gambling platforms and digital gambling addiction. When asked about the ways of access to digital gambling, 73.1% of young people discovered these platforms through friends, acquaintances or relatives, and 25.7% through influencers or advertising. This shows that the main problem is located within families and friends: "This emerging problem exceeds the school territory, since Internet social networks go beyond walls, being also a problem in houses or homes" (Faro Digital, 2024).
Whether such family members are driven by excessive advertising, soccer teams or influencers, it is necessary to raise awareness about pathological gambling oriented to families.
Another of the elements taken into account are those motivations, what drives the young person to make a bet, to try and try. Phrases such as: "I am motivated to win money", "the thrill of winning easy money", "to buy something, when I lack some money I bet to see if I can buy what I want", "because I enjoy doing it with friends, habit" are some of the answers.
In Argentina, according to UNICEF data, 7 out of 10 children and adolescents are poor. This data shows the level of social exclusion that young people live nowadays, where they are deprived of guaranteeing their biological and social life.
We live in a world where economic uncertainty and the constant bombardment of images of influencers consuming, spending and flaunting their economic status is a constant; it is even said that every male needs financial freedom and economic security to be a man. Such social expectations generate an ideology that promotes an idealization that is impossible to fulfill, but which leads to a struggle to fulfill it. Motivations in relation to money is one of them.
It is also important to take into account that social networks have accustomed us to a dynamic where boredom is impossible, where we see hundreds of images and videos instantly and unlimitedly. From this paradigm of non-boredom, we can understand that digital gambling presents itself as another space where the adolescent, who is absolutely built by digital technologies, finds in digital gambling his means of entertainment, through the adrenaline of chance.
The digital environment is something "inevitable", it is totally immersed and crosses all people in different ways. However, it is urgently necessary to problematize those dark areas of digital sociability, which bring more problems than solutions in the contemporary world.
Links consulted:
https:// farodigital.org/apuestas-online-sintoma-digital-problema-cultural-and-educational-approach-from-care/
Ombudsman of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. María Rosa Muiños (2024) "ADOLESCENTS AND ONLINE GAMBLING. DIAGNOSIS ON A PHENOMENON THAT TRANSCENDS THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT".
https://www.instagram.com/p/DCrYzjRukzi/ (Video on how to "be a male").
Radio con vos (2024). "Ferraro y la ley de ludopatía: "La prohibición de publicidad incluye camisetas y eventos deportivos" " https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhooYdTTL5E
https://www.tvpublica.com.ar/post/preocupacion-por-el-aumento-de-apuestas-online-entre-adolescentes
https:// chequeado.com/el-explicador/pobreza-infantil-7-of-every-10-ninas-ninos-and-adolescents-in-argentina-are-poor/
Comments