PUNE | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2010 SPEAK UP www.dnaindia.com | epaper.dnaindia.com 4 EXPERT VIEW People are forgetting the Pay a mental price for Web habit art of making conversation A study has found that excessive use of the Internet can lead to mental ailments and even depression. With an increasing number of With the increased amount of time that youngsters are spending in front of computers using Face- youngsters getting hooked to networking sites, gaming and other online activities, there is cause for worry. Speak Up finds out book, Twitter, gaming, chat or just surfing, they Vilas Avachat DNA are forgetting the art of making a conversation with people in real life. I have seen many siblings ‘It can cause who are in the same room, but prefer to either SMS depression’ or chat with each other instead of talking. Obvi- ously,technology is a must for young people and its use must be > Teenagers, who spend encouraged. However, it is important for youngsters to use it in excessive amount of moderation, take adequate breaks and have other real hobbies, time on the Internet, activities and interactions as well. Remember that there is a are one-and-a-half world other than the cyber world too! times more likely to develop depression than moderate Web Ankit Fadia, ethical hacker users, a study in China has found. These young patients used to > Researcher Lawrence Lam described some spend over 18 hours online signs of excessive use — spending at least Last year,we received three cases of Internet addiction. five to more than 10 They were severe cases of addictive behaviour,where- hours a day on the in the patients were spending more than 18 hours a day Web, agitation when playing online lottery,games and general web brows- not in front of the ing. Their social life and education was disturbed. All computer and loss of three were below 18 years. They had also got into the interest in social habit of munching chips and consuming soft drinks, interaction. which made them obese. > We receive two to three cases every month for consultation. The paper was published in the I feel the situation is grave. Awareness among parents regard- Archives of Pediatrics ing symptoms of addiction is lacking. We have been receiving & Adolescent Medicine such cases since the last two years, but there may be many more recently. It involved that go undetected. 1,041 teenagers aged The only difference between such obsessive Internet use and between 13 and 18 substance abuse is that the physical dependence is not there in years in China’s the former; it is a kind of mental addiction. All the patients we southern Guangzhou have received till now are youngsters. Therefore, it all depends city. Nine months later, on how parents handle such problems in the initial stage. They 84 of them were should be vigilant about what children are doing on the Inter- suffering from net. The truth is that the Internet is part of our life now. It is depression. important to control its use and keep children from abuse. Mukta Puntambekar, project director, Muktangan De-Addiction Camp EXPERT VIEW Web addiction is Reading, exercise Wrong to call them Make children Uncontrollable use not as harmful are being ignored Internet ‘addicts’ aware of perils Look out for symptoms like causes depression I believe that an ex- The Internet is a ma- Internet addicts are My children and I withdrawal from social circle cess of anything jor utility of the 21st more attuned to the share a friendly re- In a country like In- leads to addiction. century. Sites like social world than the lationship. I keep The problem of Internet addiction has been high- dia that has a low rate The dependence on Google have become rest of us. They par- tabs on what they lighted in urban areas. Addiction is not limited of Internet use and social networking household names ticipate in multi- are doing when only to alcohol and drug abuse. It goes beyond that high incidence of un- sites, constant need and are accessed on player games, talk to they are online. It is and has various forms like lifestyle addiction, treated mental prob- to be updated on the an every day basis. people in chat rooms, not possible to stop which includes dependence on the Internet. lems, we should not Internet is a falsely created phe- The Web has become a valuable re- and take part in discussion forums. them from using it as it has be- Parents can identify symptoms like withdraw- focus on the link be- nomenon. In fact, it is like any oth- source for people from every pro- So, they are what I believe the rea- come a part of life. However,I con- al of the child from social circles and activities. tween excessive Internet use and er addiction. An addict needs his fession. It hosts all kinds of valu- son why most of the web content trol the time they spend online Today, parents are aware of whether the child is using the In- depression. It would instead be bet- ‘fix’ and if he does not get it, he feels able information and can satiate available to us exists. Yet, we tag and ensure that they do not lose ternet excessively.Generally,this kind of addiction is found in ter if we spend our efforts in spread- agitated, distraught and depressed. anyone’s needs. You can find any- them as addicts. focus from studies and socialising the teenage and above group. Parents have control over the child ing awareness about ‘regular’ clin- This is what happens with an In- thing — right from cooking recipes However,I don’t think this is very with friends and family. We also till he/she goes to school. The problem starts as soon as the child ical depression (with or without In- ternet addict if he does not get his to details of business deals, gadgets different from being addicted to take care that our children do not steps into college and wants to enjoy his/her independence. ternet as a cause). daily dose of the virtual world. to shopping. Online gaming, forums your friends or interacting with share personal information on Apart from online gaming, youngsters also get hooked to so- According to conservative esti- It is important that you exercise and social networking have become people. Pull a person out of his so- the Web. cial networking sites and general Web browsing. Parents should mates, 20% people develop clinical caution and not get carried away. I popular leisure activities. The cial circle, lock him in a room and The best way for parents to be more aware of what the child is doing online. depression at some point in their also feel that it cannot be termed as youth particularly has taken a spe- see if he gets depressed or not. So, deal with the situation is take Considering the social aspect, it is a full-blown addiction if life and suffer needlessly because harmful until it affects the addict cial liking to these facilities and why should we classify Internet ad- children into confidence and youngsters start isolating themselves, do not develop their so- most of them do not get it treated. physically, though there are psy- they are a major source of commu- dicts as more susceptible to depres- make them aware of the disad- cial skills or cannot function for a day without the Internet. This is a bigger worry than the fact chological addictions too. nication and information for them. sion? The only varying factor here vantages of the Internet. These youngsters become aggressive and reserved. It is a sure that ‘pathological’ Internet users I can go weeks without actually Excessive use in the teenage years is the Internet. Computer games are a cause sign of addiction. In this case, it is better to seek expert help. are at a higher risk of developing checking my Facebook account, but can cause developmental problems and In this globalised world, where for worry as children get tempted depression. there are many who just cannot self-esteem issues. It could also lead to many spend virtually every waking to go to Internet cafes and friends’ Natasha D’cruz, Another concern I have is that the handle not being online. They con- stunted growth in other areas like aca- moment online, the most revolu- places, where we cannot keep a media and misinformed parents are go- stantly update their profiles and demics and work. tionary technology ever invented is check. The violence in these psychologist ing to blow this out of proportion and comment on others as well. Addiction to gaming is a major being subject to slander. It is be- games can disturb young minds. crack down heavily on all Internet use Gaming and Internet surfing are ad- problem among teenagers who are cause people are biased towards re- With Internet overuse, children It’s not an addiction if your by youngsters. The link with depres- dictive activities and should be used in unable to restrain themselves. This ality rather than ‘virtual reality’. start losing touch with the real sion exists only in case of ‘pathological’ a disciplined manner. Parents must hampers social relationships. Peo- Maybe we should go back and rede- world. This is a serious problem profession demands working online or ‘uncontrollable’ Internet use. monitor the child’s Internet time to en- ple tend to ignore the benefits of fine addiction and keep it limited to and they should be made aware of Excessive use is not the same as un- sure that it is being used judiciously.Too other fruitful activities like reading, abusers of narcotics and alcohol.