4 minute read
Digital Addiction Amongst Students
from You-wA-H
by schoolindia
Webinar 2
The rise of Digital addiction in Youth and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Effects on Mental & Physical health & How to cope up with same
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A survey posted by the Hindustan Times conducted across 30 Indian cities highlighted that children’s addiction to electronic devices during the lockdown increased up to three times, as they spent between two and five hours a day on their favourite gadgets. The survey revealed that 65% of the children became addicted to electronic devices, while 50% of them couldn’t stay away from their gadgets for even half an hour. A rise of no-mobile phobia has also been observed. This is a situation of grave concern.
The second webinar of the series focused on the impact of digital (internet, social media, & gaming) addiction on one’s mental and physical health and informing the audience about the ways out of digital addiction and preventions. It also gave the audience an opportunity to interact with the eminent panel which included:
DR. ANURADHA SOVANI - Psychologist and Psychotherapist, Head of Dept. & Dean at SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai
DR. JYOTI SHARMA - Ayurvedic Doctor and Digital Addiction Counsellor, New Delhi
MS. FARIAL SABRINA Art Curator with lived Experience of Gaming, New Delhi
KEY TAKEAWAYS
INTERNET AND GAMING ADDICTION • The overuse of the internet is not the main concern , the misuse of it is. The digital world must be used responsibly to avoid any repercussions. • A scholarly research discovered that parents aren’t as worried about Internet consumption as they are about the night outs. • The young minds are unable to differentiate between the reel world and the real world.
PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF DIGITAL ADDICTION • Ayurveda believes that our physical health and psychological health are interrelated.
When we over exert ourselves psychologically, our body starts responding physically. • Teenagers stop taking care of their physical appearance if they get addicted to the digital world, it is worrisome since teenagers are very particular about the way they look.
ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOUR • Teenagers miss their social interactions amidst the lockdown; there is a longing for peer interaction which is why they spend most of their hours on social media. • A typical adolescent is usually addicted to the internet because he receives three rewards from online platforms, he gets a chemical high from playing well, a social high because the peers appreciate their performance and platforms regularly provide them with rewards to boost their business. • The new generation is born in a digital world, for them there is no difference between
KEY TAKEAWAYS
an online classroom or an offline classroom, it’s the older generation that can differentiate and might face a few challenges in accepting the changes. Our youth is equipped with the risk taking factor; however this trait also makes them indulge in behaviors with negative consequences. And this is why parents need to be watchful of the internet usage of the kids.
DISCUSSING THE POSITIVES OF INTERNET • We should productively use our digital space, it is a world that is beyond the physical and has immense potential in helping individuals succeed in their lives. • The older generations lack knowledge about the positives of the internet and have developed a phobia of the online world. We should also pay attention to the positives of the internet to get rid of this phobia. It is the main source of communication these days and has become the medium of school education, learning, working, pursuing passions, staying fit.
WAYS OUT OF DIGITAL ADDICTION AND PREVENTION • The mind of the youth needs to be detoxified. Ayurveda suggests that one should indulge in activities that harvest their potential in a manner that a young mind is diverted from the internet. For every hour spent in the digital world, one must relax their body by laying still, doing yoga, star gazing or massaging their foot. • We must develop a value system around the internet instead of condemning it. • We must learn to distinguish between our gadgets, phones are meant for calls and texting, laptops for online lectures and research, and televisions are meant of watching shows and movies and games can be played on both. The cross-usage of devices results in the overuse of the digital world. • We have put labels on certain things; a child sitting in a library for three consecutive days is as unhealthy as a child sitting in front of the television. Labeling activities is incorrect, our focus should be on discipline. One should set goals and move ahead.
This artificial division between the online and the offline is completely irrelevant.
SURVEY FINDINGS
76% people feel the need to check their phones every thirty minutes to one hour. 65% of the people use digital platforms for only 1 – 5 hours a day. 46.5% of the youth mostly uses the internet for academics during the lockdown as opposed to 39% who used it for social media. Only 3.8% of the audience uses the net for online gaming while 10.8% has other major uses of the internet. 60% of the population has not put screen time limits on their mobile phones. Approximately 34.9% of the audience feels that their lives are impacted by social media, over 48% feel they are sometimes influenced by social media whereas 17% do not feel their lives are impacted by social media.
