Addiction to technology growing in City

A tech-savvy City that it is, Bengaluru has its own share of problems. Technology has turned a boon for many but a bane for around seven percent of the City residents.

As a result of overuse, addiction to technology is common among the young, say doctors at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans). Around four to seven percent of the total population could be addicted to technology, according to Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma, Additional Professor, Department of Clinical Psychology, Nimhans, who also heads the ‘Shut Clinic.’ 

“It is usually addiction to video games that we have come across. Those affected are mostly between the age of 14 and 19 and hail from higher socioeconomic background,” he said.

Besides video games, the other addictions are: mobile texting, visiting social networking sites and pornography sites. This is done predominately by men, who do not have much knowledge of cyber laws.

Shut Clinic, set up to help those with tech addictions, receives three to four mails a week from other states enquiring about the service as well as possibility of online help or telephonic counselling.

“We typically see cases whose usage is about ten to 14 hours a day. Their biological growth goes down, there is no self care and they are prone to social withdrawal,” he said.

With text-based communication gradually replacing face-to-face interaction, the communication levels too have dropped, found doctors at Nimhans. “With this, the bonding with parents goes down. They wish to have very brief conversations. Even in times of distress, they look for help online. If the same trend persists, it might affect professional relationships as well,” Dr Sharma said.