Investigation of technology use, eating habits and emotions of secondary school students in the education process in the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: Recently, applications to outpatient clinics due to "technology addiction" have increased, and we thought that it is important to prepare data for screening schools and planning the necessary interventions in order to determine how much of a problem this situ-ation can cause. In our study, besides observing the eating habits during the pandemic pro-cess, it was aimed to reveal whether there is an increase in the risk of obesity and to evalua-te the eating habits in schools. A significant increase in negative psychological side effects such as post-traumatic stress syndrome, obsession, confusion and anger has been reported as a result of quarantine. In this period, we think it is important to prepare data for the plan-ning of necessary interventions in cooperation with the parents-school-National Education Directorate in order to determine the emotional state of our children. In our study, it was aimed to reveal the nutritional changes, the increase in the use of technology, mood disor-ders that occurred during the pandemic, and to indicate the risks associated with them. Methods and materials: The case sample of this study consisted of a total of 1074 students, 593 from TEB Ataşehir Secondary School in Istanbul and 481 from Maltepe Adnan Kahveci Secondary School. The study was carried out in September 2022 and was completed in about 2 weeks. Demographic information developed by the researcher and the changes seen with the pandemic process, the impact of the pandemic process on children were evaluated, to all participants included in the study.The Sociodemographic Data Form was used to evaluate anxiety and depression levels, while the Kutcher Depression Scale was used. SPSS 15.0 was used for the statistical analysis of the findings obtained in the study. In the evaluation of the data, the chi-square test was used to compare the independent groups, as well as the desc-riptive analysis of the frequency percent mean standard deviation. Results: In our study, there was an increase in the time children spent in front of the screen compared to the pre pandemic education period. While it was observed that there was a significant increase in the number of daily meals and fast food consumption during the pan-demic, there was no significant difference in the consumption of instant drinks (ice tea, fruit juice, cola, etc.) and junk food (chips, crackers, chocolate, sugar). In our study, the sociode-mographic characteristics of secondary school students and their COVID-19 mood levels we-re examined; no significant difference was observed. Conclusion: It is thought that the increase in the time spent at home during the pandemic increases the use of technology in children's free time. The students who participated in our research stated that their attitudes towards online education were negative and their lear-ning efficiency decreased in this process. During the pandemic, there was a significant inc-rease in the number of daily meals and fast food consumption, and it was seen that the re-sults were compatible with similar studies. In our study, there was no significant difference in terms of anxiety, depression and emotional problems of secondary school students during the pandemic process, and more studies will be needed for its long-term effects. Keywords: Technology, Covid-19, nutrition, child, pandemic