Barcelona Director's Workshops Combat Teen Screen Addiction in Andorra

David Martínez, a 52-year-old theatre director from Barcelona, has led the social theatre company La Nave Va for over 20 years. The group has brought awareness workshops to first-year ESO students across Andorran schools, focusing on responsible use of screens and social media.

In these sessions, titled "Qui té a qui?" ("Who has whom?"), participants reflect on whether they control their devices or vice versa. Martínez emphasises the loss of privacy once content is posted online, noting that it becomes public and uncontrollable, often leading to issues like cyberbullying. Addiction emerges as another key concern, driven by platforms that trigger dopamine and a sense of well-being, filling voids from boredom, shame, or emotional gaps. He describes extreme cases, such as Japanese gamers who urinate on themselves to avoid pausing play, to illustrate how such habits can take hold.

The workshops also provide teachers with insights into group dynamics. Students often recognise how screens impoverish real relationships, causing misunderstandings, and admit using them to combat loneliness when feeling ignored by parents or siblings. A common complaint is that parents themselves are hooked on social media. Martínez advocates improving family communication, citing examples like families placing phones in a box for at least an hour before bedtime, which fosters more conversation and stronger bonds. Participants who try it express gratitude.

He opposes outright bans on minors' social media access, instead calling for guidance, moderation, and boundaries. Another initiative, the play *Entre el miracle i el desastre* ("Between the Miracle and the Disaster"), is set to arrive in Andorra soon. It simulates a trial of a philosopher, with students acting as the jury to sharpen critical thinking.

Martínez points to lasting impact: when revisiting groups years later, students recall the discussions. Through fiction, he says, people err without real consequences, building life skills like training. "Art must be a place of hope and a fight against apathy," he concludes.