Caught in the web: How social media is taking a toll on the young

Renu Sud Sinha

As social media usage increases exponentially, India is facing a mental health crisis of gargantuan proportions — social media addiction. The addiction started taking root after smartphones and data packs became easily available and cheaper. The pandemic worsened the crisis. With everything, from work to school, moving online, children as young as four to five years old were handed smartphones across all strata and with hardly any supervision.

Scary numbers

• 55 per cent urban parents say their children aged 9-13 years have access to smartphones for all or most of their day (outside of in-person school classes).
• 71 per cent say their children aged 13-17 have access to a smartphone for all or most of day.
• A whopping 49 per cent say their children aged 9-13 are spending 3 hours or more each day on social media, videos and online games; 47 per cent say these kids are absolutely hooked.
• A total of 68 per cent of parents believe the minimum age requirement for creating a social media account should be changed from 13 years to 15 years.

— LocalCircles survey

No safeguards in Mental Health act

The Mental Healthcare Act 2017 has no specific safeguards against Internet addiction. However, Dr Anirudh Kala, member of an expert group that formulated the first-ever Mental Health Policy launched in October 2014, says, “A prohibitory approach doesn’t work. It harms more than it benefits. What works is awareness. We need to create awareness among all stakeholders, including parents and the vulnerable age groups, through schools and other platforms. The government should probably use the social media to propagate against it. After all, that’s where the youngsters are,” adds Dr Kala.

Need to AmEnd IT Act, says expert

The IT Act 2000 is silent on many aspects, including cyber bullying, harassment, trolling and addiction, says cyber law expert Pavan Duggal. He says the law needs to be amended to address the looming crisis. “We also need to focus on capacity building by creating awareness, cyber etiquette and

hygiene in the school curriculum. The government can mandate all intermediaries (social media platforms) to spend a minimum portion of revenue on capacity-building, awareness and educating/sensitising users about various pitfalls of prolonged use of these platforms. Intermediaries have been given a virtual carte blanche protection under Section 79 of the IT Act, which provides them with a statutory exemption from legal liability provided they exercise due diligence.” The government, he adds, has not stipulated the parameters of due diligence the providers need to adopt to prevent activities which can have a sociological or psychological impact. “If the government starts mandating some of these parameters under Section 87, it can be a good starting point.”

‘I Am Ruth’, Kate Winslet and her daughter Mia Threapleton’s feature drama on Britain’s Channel Four, explores this eerie reality that has overtaken the world and not just India. The drama is an accurate depiction of the toxic effects of social media on young people.

A recent survey by LocalCircles, a community social media platform, has thrown up some alarming figures. Over 40 per cent urban Indian parents admit that their children between the ages of nine and 17 are addicted to videos, gaming and social media.

The survey findings, which received over 65,000 responses from people across 287 districts in India, say parents believe that the habit of using gadgets excessively and giving early access to children along with schools becoming online during the pandemic are factors that drive this addiction.

Delhi-based Srishti would certainly agree with these findings. Her 16-year-old son Sarthak, never a communicative child, became addicted to gaming when classes shifted online. “Earlier, I wasn’t much active on social media sites but during the pandemic, I started playing PUBG with friends. We would play even as classes were on and often for 14-18 hours daily. After it was banned in India, I downloaded VPN that changed server settings and we would play on a different country server. Later, I turned to other social media platforms,” he says.

His parents noticed worrisome behavioural changes. “A simple ‘no’ to something triggered an unreasonably angry reaction,” says Srishti, an IELTS trainer.

“I would lock my room, refuse to eat if my parents switched off WiFi,” says Sarthak, who’s now undergoing professional therapy.

“His grades dipped; he would lie incessantly; would try to manipulate us. There were complaints of fights when he attended school for pre-boards earlier this year. We were not keen on therapy earlier because of the fear of stigma. We started only recently,” adds Srishti.

“This addiction to technology and Internet has been around for nearly a decade now. Over the years, more subtypes have emerged, including social media and gaming addiction,” says Dr Sandeep Grover, professor of psychiatry at the PGI, Chandigarh. Symptoms include frequently checking the mobile, prolonged Internet or mobile usage, no control over the use of cellphone or digital devices. The outcome can be anxiety, stress, low self-esteem, body-image issues, self-isolation, depression, poor academic performance, behavioural issues, communication and/or relationship breakdown, insomnia, he adds.

“Most of the time, parents or patients approach us for problems such as behavioural issues or poor academic grades. Technology addiction often emerges as one of the factors,” adds Dr Grover.

Muskaan Garg (22) has been undergoing therapy since 2018 for body-image issues triggered by social media. “Social media majorly contributed to my low self-esteem. I was 11 or 12 when I created my first social media account. Before that, I had never really struggled with my self-esteem, but as I got hooked to social media, I started comparing myself with others. An early onset of acne made matters worse. I tried speaking to my parents about my anxiety issues but they dismissed it as ‘faltu cheez’. I retreated into the virtual world, seeking validation there. Lack of confidence and self-esteem started affecting my studies, and even my art,” says Muskaan, who’s a musician, and now uses social media only for professional reasons.

Dr Priti Arun, professor and HoD, Psychiatry, GMCH-32, Chandigarh, says the concept and mechanism of peer pressure has now shifted to virtual space, affecting adolescents, as it did in real life. Likes or their absence, comments, both positive and negative, impact their mental health.

Another worrying pandemic-related trend is the emergence of a social communication disorder in the age group of three to five years. “There was no socialisation at all and they were given mobile phones pretty early. Some are now showing symptoms of autism. Their digital exposure needs to be stopped immediately and socialisation needs to be increased,” adds Dr Arun.

“Like children, parents are using social media a lot but they expect kids to restrict their usage. This gives confusing signals to children, making them uncommunicative towards parents, pushing them further towards the virtual world,” says Ashita Mahendru, a Delhi-based psychologist. This is affecting their emotional intelligence, impacting their ability to process emotions and develop bonds and relationships. Behavioural issues emerge as there is no physical contact or exposure to real-life connections. Social media likes or validation by the virtual world have replaced parental or familial affection, appreciation and approval. “This is creating emotionally-stunted persons, who are inconsiderate and unconcerned about others,” she adds.

Experts say that a new disorder has emerged among children called NOMO (no-mobile) phobia that causes reactions like anxiety, frustration, irritability, palpitations, loneliness and depression. “As smart devices provide quick answers, their impatience and impulsive urges are being resolved quickly, creating low attention spans and patience levels, affecting cognitive abilities. The virtual world offers a safe space where they don’t have to face their anxieties or low self-esteem. The kids feel comfortable there but become irritable and even aggressive if adults ask them to stop using their devices even for short durations — all symptoms of addiction,” adds Ashita.

Last three years have seen a spurt in cases of addiction, says psychologist Rajashekhar Hiremath, director, de-addiction centre, Cadabam’s hospital, Bengaluru. “Earlier, we would get cases of alcohol and cannabis addiction but now we get four to five OPD patients every week, who are addicted to mobiles, social media and pornography. In cases where a patient is already suffering from a personality disorder, such addiction only intensifies the problem and the usual symptoms. Extreme cases include instances of violent behaviour, self-harm, trying to harm family members, suicide threats. Most patients are in the age bracket of 13 to 18 years. Serious patients above 18 are referred to our rehab centre. Out of a total 30-35 rehab patients per month, five to six are internet addiction cases,” adds Hiremath.

Mental health challenges and addictions are not confined to those who can afford treatment. A large number of under-privileged and under-resourced youth are facing different kinds of challenges because of the exposure and impact of social media, particularly during and after the pandemic, says Delhi-based psychologist Prarthana Sharma, co-founder, Aatma Prakash, a mental health foundation. It works at the grassroots with Teach for India and Save the Children, understanding mental health perception, status and stressors of kids between 12 and 20. “Social media gives a lot of aspirations to everyone across the spectrum on how to get the ideal body, friends, life. However, lack of resources and the inability to achieve that ideal creates a gap between their reality and aspirations. This leads to anxiety, anger, self-esteem issues, substance abuse and not just in the under-privileged,” adds Prarthana, whose foundation reached out to 30,000 youths across three districts of MP last year, out of which 6,000-7,000 were school kids. “It is an impulsive generation in distress, with low tolerance level for any stress. Many government school teachers are reporting suicide attempts over minor issues. Our child helpline reported a case where a young boy and girl were playing a mobile game. The girl was winning. Frustrated, the boy hit her with a brick. She died on the spot,” she adds.

Dr Suresh Bada Math, professor of forensic psychiatry and Head of Digital Academy, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, squarely puts the responsibility on parents and school. “Law can’t be the answer, a massive awareness programme is needed for all stakeholders. As it is the family which gets the phone, Sim card and data for the child, it needs to keep an eye. Schools, too, need to teach children about safe internet or social-media hygiene practices and life skills to handle it as Internet has become an integral and unavoidable part of life and dependence on it is only going to increase.”

The mental health challenge, feels Prarthana, has a global cause and the answer lies at the policy level. “Attention and awareness about the problem has increased. Hopefully, clear guidelines and funds will follow,” she adds. 

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