Marathon TV, Internet viewing taking psychological toll on youngsters

Online binge watching, the practice of watching Internet or television shows till fatigue sets in, is becoming rampant in the city. It goes by multiple terms like binging, marathon viewing, couch potato-ing.

Psychiatrists say that binging shows or games at one shot leads to psychological problems such as depression, sleep deprivation, lack of interpersonal or communication skills, losing concentration et al. They also mentioned cases where social media use goes on for hours among youngsters.

Dr Pratima Murthy, professor of psychiatry and in charge of addiction medicine, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans) said people with binging tendencies cannot control watching programmes on Internet despite exhaustion.

“People who binge on social networks or YouTube, Netflix or TV shows, spent at least six to seven hours on the Internet out of curiosity. Though it exhausts themselves physically and mentally, they will not stop,” said Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma, additional professor and coordinator of SHUT clinic (Service for Healthy use of Technology), Nimhans.

He said the hospital sees at least four to five patients in the age group of 16 to 20 years seeking help every week. They are brought by their parents as they are usually reluctant to accept that it is a psychological problem.

In a report published by Nimhans in June this year on technology addiction, more males are addicted to technology than females. The report also states that the trend is more prevalent among nuclear families.

Among the two reasons pointed out by Dr Naveen Jayaram, psychiatrist, Sakra World Hospital, one of the reasons for entering into binging on the Internet is either to relieve oneself from stress or to connect with people in the virtual world, especially for those who have difficulty in communicating with others.

“They start this as a stress buster or as a solution to boredom. But this becomes uncontrollable if not kept under check,” he said.

He said Internet data packs are available for free. If parents do not keep a check on the behavioural pattern of their children, especially adolescents, then this will start affecting their education and career.

Dr Sharma said people with such tendencies should keep long term contact with a medical professional so that they can guide them and stop them from getting back to the habit. It may even need admission to the hospital if the patient cannot control himself from using Internet.

Doctors said parents should communicate more and suggest recreational activities if they see the adolescent is addicted to the Internet.

According to psychiatrists, patients should come to terms with their condition by accepting it and should ask for help instead of trying to manage it themselves.