No room to play

Young world

It’s common to see gadgets and mobile phones in young hands now and be awestruck at how fast they work with these. While there are some who vouch about the benefits of the same, the fact remains that these gadgets which were meant to connect one better to society are, in turn, making children (primarily between the ages of three to 15) more socially alienated.

There are parents who place gadgets in children’s hands to get their attention or to distract them while being fed. However, Dr Divya Ganesh Nallur, a senior consultant addiction specialist, People Tree Maarga, says that being addicted to gadgets is one of the biggest social problems of the day, especially among the young. “This is done in the name of development while it is actually pulling us back as a society. Humans are human because they have social skills and one can see a dip in interactions when mobiles and tablets are around. Since nuclear families are the norm of the day, interactions have anyways come down. There is no dinner time and there are no Sunday meals together, as children are plugged to gadgets. Even the biggest celebrations see them interfering with the flow,” says Divya.

This leads to a decline in vocabulary as ‘texting’ language takes over while these mediums of interaction become an obstruction in real-life conversations. “Gadgets are stimulating, thus they keep children active, but when they look into real life, everything around feels slow, which they aren’t able to cope with. The screen keeps exposing one to changing images by the second, thus real-life conversations and life around seem dull to them,” says Divya.

This is turn makes children accept the gadget world as the perfect world to be in. “Over the last five years, there is a 60 to 70 percent increase in children who are addicted to gadgets, which makes them prone to mental health issues too,” she adds.

Many parents see their children on mobile phones and computers regularly and want to encourage more family involvement. Parvathi Rajeev, a finance executive with an NGO and mother to 13-year-old Prapoorna, often sees her daughter sitting tucked in a corner, chatting away or playing games on the phone, cut off from the real world. “Even at a family gathering, one can constantly see her on the phone. I keep reminding her that it is important to interact with people as otherwise, one would be oblivious to what is happening around. I have restricted her time on gadgets now,” she says. Parvathi adds that when real interactions do not exist, it affects the creativity of a person as one isn’t exposed to the varied cultures or traditions around.

These attention-related problems start young, vouches Jayasmita Dutta, a business excellence lead, who is mother to two-year-old Anokhi. She has seen children of the same age learn alphabets and songs from tablets, thus being plugged to them all the time. “Kids are glued to them and this can lead to health issues varying from obesity to even depression. It’s alarming to see how many children are affected by depression nowadays.”

Jayasmita adds that even when in parks, where there would be other children around, she finds kids discussing online and gadget games, which is an unhealthy trend. “I consciously keep my phone away from Anokhi, whenever she wants to use it. I keep reminding her how it is not good and she understands that,” says Jayasmita.

Most homes have a lot of gadgets and smartphones nowadays, which end up becoming toys or entertainment pieces for children. Mythry Sheshadri, a software engineer and mother to two children, five-year-old Manish and eight-year-old Ayush, says, “They are so connected to these gadgets that they are unconnected to everything around. They play many games and are so busy with their own groups online that they forget the real world. It is very easy to slip into that world and forget the importance of real touch and face-to-face encouragement,” says Mythry. She adds that she encourages outdoor games like football and badminton among her sons.

Children are beginning to trust more in emotional support online, which can turn around negatively, says Garima Narwani, a counselling psychologist. “It is important to have friends outside. The likes and comments on social media are making them dependent on these phones and gadgets. Nowadays, people are more dependent on other’s opinion of them than being their own judge. Also, while these gadgets might help enhance one’s cognitive skills, they work negatively for one’s motor skills, thus affecting the interactions of people,” says Garima.
Time to tune in to the real world?