Dear Jeyamohan,
I saw the video about cellphone addiction among our young children. I felt that this is an extremely serious issue and one that deserves much more attention than it is receiving now.
What we are witnessing is not simply a matter of children spending too much time with a device. The cellphone is gradually becoming a part of the child’s mind and daily life. It is affecting their attention, sleep, capacity to read, ability to remain alone without entertainment, and, more importantly, their ability to engage naturally with other human beings. Many children seem unable to sit quietly even for a few minutes without reaching for a screen. Their entire emotional world is increasingly being mediated by the cellphone.
Several European countries have already begun taking strong measures to restrict the use of mobile phones by children, particularly in schools. In some places, restrictions are being discussed or implemented even beyond school hours because governments have begun to understand that this is not merely an educational issue but a social and developmental crisis.
Unfortunately, in our society, we are moving in the opposite direction. We are encouraging children to use phones. Parents give them phones to keep them occupied; schools increasingly depend on digital devices; and even at home we often treat the cellphone as a harmless convenience. In many families, adults themselves are constantly looking at their screens, so it becomes almost impossible to tell children that they should not do the same.
The government certainly has an important role to play. Regulations regarding the use of smartphones in schools, advertising directed at children, social-media access, and the design of digital platforms for young users can make a real difference. But government will act only when there is sufficient public pressure. At present, there does not seem to be enough collective concern about the seriousness of the problem.
Therefore, I feel that merely speaking about this issue in individual lectures or videos is not enough. We need more intense and sustained activity. Writers, teachers, parents, doctors, psychologists and people working in education should come together and make this a public campaign. We need discussions in schools and colleges, meetings with parents, articles in newspapers and magazines, and continuous public pressure on governments to introduce meaningful regulations.
Perhaps this can become a larger movement rather than remaining an occasional discussion. We could begin by documenting the extent of cellphone dependence among children and bringing together teachers and parents who are already witnessing its consequences. We could also study the measures being taken in European countries and see which of them can realistically be adapted to our own circumstances.
I think this is an area where writers and intellectuals have a particular responsibility. We are not merely dealing with a technological change. We are dealing with a change in the nature of childhood itself. If we allow an entire generation to grow up with its attention, imagination and emotional life increasingly controlled by screens, the consequences may become visible only after it is too late.
The government can certainly take action, but to compel the government to act, we need much more intense public activity. We should try to create that pressure before the problem becomes irreversible.
Sarath
