‘Mobile monster’ Spooks parents

KOCHI: The suicide note of a 16-year-old girl, who died recently in Thiruvananthapuram, was yet another shocking reminder of the danger gadget addiction poses. She was hooked to online content such as K-pop and did not have friends. Her academic performance deteriorated. The girl claimed she was ‘depressed’. 

Experts across the state flag a worrying rise in psychological and physical distress among children due to excessive use of mobile devices. Parents were relieved as the schools reopened, but many students are displaying issues such as poor concentration, irritability, mood swings, withdrawal and aversion to school.

Aswantya S K, a psychologist with Our Responsibility to Children — an initiative of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) — says that there is a spike in cases relating to behavioural issues among children being reported by school counsellors.

“It’s been only 10 days since the schools reopened. Children are unable to focus. Even those who were excellent in their studies are struggling. There are cases where children are refusing to go to school. We are getting a lot of calls seeking intervention,” she says.

“Sudden restrictions by the parents make the situation worse for the children. In most cases, the parents knew about the addiction but ignored it. All of a sudden, they impose harsh restrictions. So the children react in extreme ways,” Aswantya notes.

Many parents are hoping ‘things would get better’ with children spending more time at school. “My son got hooked to the mobile phone. We had no other way but to give the gadget to keep him engaged, as he is a lone child. Now he has started going to school and I hope the new routine would help wean him off the device,” says Arun P, father of a seven-year-old.

Aishwarya Menon, the mother of a Class 2 boy, believes the “greatest challenge” for a parent today is to offer “a balance between the real and virtual worlds” for children. “While it’s not practical to fully detach a child from the e-world, as a mother, it bothers me that my son enjoys online games more than, say, playing outdoors, or even with his toys,” she adds. “The biggest worry is his aversion to studies. The moment I call him for some writing or reading practice, he frowns, throws a fuss and cries. I hope things would improve with quality time at school.”
  
Lack of adequate school counsellors
There are around 12,646 educational institutions in Kerala, of which 4,504 schools come under the government sector. Services of school counsellors are available at 1,012 institutions in the government sector. A proposal to appoint another 1,000 counsellors is pending with the government, says an official of the Women and Child Development Department. “The status of the availability of the school counsellors in the private and aided schools are not available,” the official adds.

Experts stress every school should have a counsellor. “If there are no counsellors, teachers should be given expert training to screen the children and identify the ones facing issues,” says psychiatrist Nidhin George Kodiyan, Alappuzha Medical College Hospital. “Teachers are also under tremendous stress to complete the portions and may end up pressuring children who are struggling to cope with the new routine. This would not do any good.”

Nidhin adds one simple step, parents could initiate is installing parental control apps, which help monitor usage and block inappropriate content. Sandhya DP, a school counsellor for the past 10 years, believes parents should observe changes in children. “Even slight changes in their routine or behaviour should be noted,” she says. “Children having issues may spend more time in isolation or keep themselves confined in their rooms.”

Teachers, she adds, have been raising concerns over behavioural issues among students. “They often complain that the children are reacting angrily, and were resisting the new routine. They must understand it would take some time for them to adjust,” she says. Popular psychiatrist C J John says the first step is to “accept there is a problem”. And, he says, this problem is a “byproduct” of the pandemic, to an extent.

“Never blame the children,” he says. “That’s the most common mistake parents make. Do not scold children. It was the parents who themselves, unknowingly, encouraged this behavioural addiction.” 
John says the issue can be tackled easily with early detection and intervention (see box). “The government, too, can play a big role. It could initiate a statewide ‘children’s retrieval’ programme, involving parents, teachers and experts, to nip this burgeoning menace in the bud.”  

Symptoms of gadget addiction

Continuously thinking of using a digital gadget

Incapable of controlling the time of the usage of gadget

Withdrawal symptoms when one is deprived of the device

Sleep disturbance, anxiety, sadness, suicidal ideas

The use of gadget becomes the only source of happiness

Doc Talk
Veteran psychiatrist C J John says parents should not impose harsh curbs on children one fine day, just because schools have reopened. He also cautions against parents using deprivation of mobile phone or tablet as a ‘punishment or negative consequence’ for bad behaviour by children. “It will only increase the child’s fascination for the device,” he says. John adds parents should watch out for unhealthy traits such as lying, stealthily using devices, negative emotions (anger, avoiding food, destructive outburst, self-harm threats).  “One should also keep track of the child’s progress in studies, social skills, sports, extra-curricular activities,” he says. “Parents should not hesitate to seek professional help. Gadget addiction could also be an early indicator of conditions such as ADHD, depression and social anxiety. So, in a way, seeking help for gadget addiction could help address the larger underlying condition.”