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EXIT Festival Awarded For Life Is Live! Campaign, Raising Awareness Of Digital Addiction

EFA 2024 Jaap Kroon8
Ivan Milivojev, one of EXIT original founders, accepting the Take A Stand Award at this year’s European Festival Awards ceremony in Groningen, Netherlands, Jan. 15. (Picture by Jaap Kroon)

Serbia’s EXIT festival took home the Take A Stand award at this year’s European Festival Awards ceremony in Groningen, Netherlands, for its Life is Live! campaign, which raises awareness and fosters dialogue about the rapidly growing issue of digital addiction among young people.

“We live in a world where digital addiction has surpassed all other forms of addiction combined, especially among young people,” commented festival founder Dušan Kovačević, adding, “our mission is to show new generations that the true beauty of life lies in authentic experiences that no virtual reality can replace, and this prestigious award inspires us to expand the ‘Life is Live!’ campaign globally. It is especially motivating as we celebrate this milestone year, and we are determined to make this year’s festival edition our best yet.”

EXIT’s research indicates “that digital addiction has reached alarming levels, with over a billion people worldwide showing signs of nomophobia – dependency on mobile devices. Excessive screen time, social media usage, and gaming are linked to numerous mental health issues and disorders. Digital identities and virtual worlds have become more important than real life for many, particularly young people. On average, people spend over 20 years of their lives in front of screens, touching their phones more than 1,000 times a day and rarely turning them off.”

The valid question posed by the ‘Life is Live!’ campaign therefore is: are we more connected yet lonelier than ever?”

Revolution Through Evolution: EXIT Festival Is Building Bridges

Kovačević elaborated a bit more on the issue when speaking for Pollstar’s most recent East Europe Focus in 2024, where he said: “Our philosophy that live experiences are not replaceable, and that digital addiction is a real issue. We are not advocating against tech, as we feel it can be very useful for the industry. What we advocate is the safe use of it.”

The topic of digital addiction will be discussed at a new conference launched by the EXIT team, called Bridge, and scheduled to premiere with the next edition of Sea Star Festival – another EXIT event – in Umag, Croatia, May 22-25.

The ‘Life is Live!’ campaign is supported by marketing agency McCann Belgrade. In winning the Take A Stand award at this year’s European Festival Awards, EXIT beat high-profile competition consisting of other European festival giants such as Tomorrowland, Rock Werchter, and Pukkelpop.

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