Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Advancement in technology has made life easy for people but the addiction to gadgets, especially mobile phones, is taking a toll on the productive hours of youngsters. City psychiatrists have raised an alarm over the increasing cases of mobile phone addiction among youngsters and appealed to the parents to act immediately.
According to doctors, the cases saw an increase during the lockdown as students had to opt for online classes as Covid-19 spread across the nation. However, the cases haven’t come down even after two years of the lockdown and this has become a cause of concern for the parents.
According to psychiatrist Dr Abhay Paliwal, a large number of parents are approaching them to complain about increased mobile screen time among their kids. The most affected ones are the youngsters aged between 17 and 25 years.”
He said that about 250 patients come to the Psychiatry Department in MY Hospital every day including 3-5 patients who come with their parents to get rid of mobile addiction.
“Many parents have also complained that whenever they tried to get their wards off their mobile phones, they got irritated and even stopped taking food. These are the signs of mobile addiction and must be taken seriously,” Dr Paliwal said.
The complaints are not limited to this. The other complaints include lack of concentration, focus, anxiety and issues of persistent headache among kids, said Dr Paliwal said.
Meanwhile, professor of psychiatry Dr Ramghulam Razdan said, “Every fifth teenager is suffering from online gaming addiction or is addicted to mobile phones. It has become a serious issue and intensive steps must be taken to control the menace as it not only affects patients’ lives but also the future of the country.” He added that the number of children approaching him with such disorders had increased from 4-5 a month to 10-15 in the same period.
Case 1- Doesn’t sleep without seeing mobile
Family members of a 19-year-old youth, a resident of Dhar, approached the doctors of MY Hospital and complained that their ward who is addicted to mobile phone spends more than eight hours on phone. He does not even feel like going to his friends, nor is he able to talk properly to anyone at home. He doesn’t sleep as long as he does not use his mobile at night.
Case 2- Fully engrossed in phone, forgets to take food
Family members of a 20-year-old girl from Gandhi Nagar complain that she is so engrossed in her mobile that she doesn't even remember to eat food. The girl's grandfather approached the doctors and asked them to counsel her on on phone as she gets irritated even in coming out of the home.
