2019_02_26_ICS_claudia_lopez

"As long as the digital landscape alters our relationship with reality, investigating the human and psychological aspects of this transformation becomes crucial." So says Claudia López Madrigal, a student of Master's Degree in research in Social Sciences (MICS) at the University of Navarra in the 2018/2019 academic year.

Claudia López Madrigal comes from Mexico City and studied psychology at the Universidad Panamericana. She is currently studying the MICS thanks to a scholarship from the Social Trends Institute and, in her work de Fin de Master's Degree, she seeks to understand the psychological and social implications that arise from the digital consumption practices of adolescents and young people. The student carries out the Master's Degree as a complement to her degree program as a psychologist since she considers that "the study of the mind and behavior becomes an impossible task if we do not understand and investigate the context".

He stresses the importance of paying attention to the use of digital media as they are not neutral tools. He assures that young people use messages and networks as substitutes for other activities that are crucial to their development. This leads many of them to confuse the digital world and the real world, "turning their consumption practices into a continuous search for approval and connection with others, resulting in serious psychological and social damage," he says, citing problems such as anxiety, identity issues, depression, impatience or loneliness.

The Mexican woman considers that the MICS is the ideal place to expand her training and research on these topics as it is coordinated by the Institute for Culture and Societyresearch center Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Navarra. "It not only offers methodological tools for , but also promotes proposals that seek social change," she explains. research

• Read the full interview on the Social Trends Institute website.