Gadget addiction among children during lockdown a cause of concern

With the nation-wide lockdown in place for 21 days and now being extended, children across various age groups are facing a number of stressors on their mental health.

Children's counsellors and psychiatrists say that an extended period of confinement in the house, social isolation, disruption to routine and lack of personal space is taking its toll on children, with increased temper tantrums or irritability in younger children, and frequent clashes between teenagers and their parents.

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"Anxiety and uncertainty is affecting everybody and children are more distressed. To think that because they are younger, they're not going to get affected is a misconception," says Maullika Sharma, a counsellor who works with parents and adolescents.

Part of the trouble is the nature of the crisis: the Covid-19 pandemic is essentially an 'invisible' enemy. "There is fear and tons of ambiguity on the danger that is lurking out there. It can attack anybody... their parents, grandparents. So there's this uncertainty on what's going to happen to them, to their families," Maullika says.

Being forced to stay at home is also very difficult for children with developmental disorders like Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or those on the Autism Spectrum, as a lot of therapies to treat them suggest intense counselling, and therapy based on physical activity.

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Confined to physical spaces for extended can aggravate these disorders, and with therapy centres shut, many parents worry that the progress their children have made over months could be lost.

Dr Yesheswini Kamaraju, Director of the Reach clinic, says that a lot of the calls she receives are from parents about managing children with ADHD.

"Not all children with ADHD require medication but given the current situation, a lot of parents are unable to manage without them," she says.

The massive increase in the use of gadgets and screen-times among children, both young and old, has been one of the knock-on effects of staying indoors.

"The most common consultation parents seek is for gadget addiction. Now, parents have no say because there's nothing else they can do other than get into a gadget," says Dr Yesheswini.

Counsellors and doctors, who have advocated cutting down teenagers' screentime for years, recognise this contradiction of the lockdown.

Multiple studies have indicated the adverse effects of screentime on children's language and speech development. So while many doctors want children below three to stay away from television and mobile screens absolutely, their parents who have to manage the household and increasing demands from employers might be left with little choice.

"We have constantly been saying cut down screen time and now all of a sudden, even classes have moved online. This sort of goes against everything that we've been telling children and parents to do all this while, but now is not the time to impose that rule," Maullika says.

Exams and anxiety

For older students, especially those in Class XII preparing for competitive exams which are now postponed, the extended period of limbo can be distressing.

"Most students are quite resilient and are taking this stress in their stride. Those who can voice their anxiety are reaching out to our teachers and counsellors. There are a few who are going to be more affected than others and we know our children, so we are in touch with them," says Fr Sunil Fernandes, principal of St Joseph's Boys High School.

As a response, several schools in the city like the Army Public School and NPS in Jayanagar have digitised their classrooms. Not one to be left behind, coaching centres too have been aggressively conducting lessons and mock tests online.

Ashish, a Class XII student who is appearing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) has been busy with his exam preparations, which have been extended by more than a month now. "They should announce the dates at least 20 days before the exams. It would be a great help," he says.

Ashish's classmate Kumari Anju, also a medical aspirant, prefers personal interaction over digital learning. "You should have some interaction with teachers and friends... it feels lively. Otherwise, its a bit dull no," she says.