Eyes locked down for hours holding a 7inch object and you cannot remember the last time you exchanged meaningful words with somebody, so much for a man known to be as the ‘social animal’. So lost in the virtual world that you have no idea even what’s happening next to you. This is something we experience every day of our lives whether in the train, in the bus, in a public park, at the beach, in your own house and the most worrying thing of all is that we approach this as normality, we understand this as normal behaviour.
If this is not addiction then what is? And we all know addictions don’t come cheap. According to many studies done by various institutions, digital addiction has been linked to higher levels of loneliness, envy, anxiety, depression and decreased social skills. Psychiatrists and experts recommend going through a ‘digital detox’ every week in order to fight digital addiction.
Digital addiction is a real thing and we have to acknowledge it before something frightful happens. Earlier this week, a 24-year-old mother committed suicide in Tamil Nadu after she was prevented from using TikTok and a 16-year-old student from Madhya Pradesh suffered a major cardiac arrest and lost his life after playing PUBG for six straight hours last month.
Following the reports, Samir Parikh, Director, Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, Fortis Healthcare, told IANS, “The two most important things that people have to do is maintain a balance between work, life indoor, outdoor recreation and social engagements. One must also ensure they are getting proper sleep. It is essential,” and recommended that adults should undergo four hours of "digital detox" every week - a period where they do not use their phone or any gadget and if one is unable to go through those four hours then there is a problem which needs to be addressed.
Speaking to IANS, Sandeep Vohra, Senior Consultant, Psychiatry, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi said, “People who are addicted to using gadgets, tend to get "withdrawal symptoms" in the form of always thinking about them, or becoming irritable with disturbed sleep when they try to stop using their devices.”
"Digital addiction is as bad as an addiction to any other drug. So if you are hit by digital addiction, the signs are that you actually tend to go off your normal routine life. You are always dependent and on the screen," Vohra told IANS.
The adults can surely go on a detox to limit the addiction but what about the coming generation growing into prospective such as these? To this Parikh says, “Parents need to be good role models. If parents spend too much time on digital gadgets then children learn and follow by example. Encourage children to be social and develop hobbies,” “If you keep focusing your child's attention on indoor activities there are higher chances of him/her becoming digitally addicted. Therefore encourage him/her to play sports or meet friends and family. Reading is also a great way to combat boredom if indoors.”
Indeed, there is a greater need for awareness about digital addiction, acknowledging the problem and realising that it is as dangerous as drug addiction may be the first step to treatment.
