Mobiles & internet are trapping the youth,

says survey by top hospitals

A survey by top government hospitals has revealed that youngsters are getting trapped
in behavioural addiction due to internet and smartphones.

In Short

 Survey by top Delhi govt hospitals says youths are showing behavioural addiction to internet on
smartphones.

 About 56 percent of the respondents had atleast one smartphone addiction.

 Behavioural problems like lack of sleep, stress, anxiety, depression are becoming
commonplace.

A latest survey by Delhi's top government hospitals has found that the
Capital's youth are unknowingly getting trapped in behavioural addiction via
internet on smart phones.

The survey, conducted by All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) and
Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) on 817 people (college and school
students and young professionals), has found that about 56 per cent of the
participants had at least one mobile phone behavioural addiction such as
gaming, internet use, social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.).

Most importantly, the findings pointed that 41 per cent of the respondents
have agreed to professional help in case they are having behavioural
addiction related to the use of mobile phone technology, while 15 per cent
agreed to have sought some help in the past.

he survey was conducted in November 2017 at a health camp in Pragati

Maidan.
Author Dr Suneela Garg, director professor of community medicine at MAMC
told MAIL TODAY, "Behavioural addiction due to use of mobile technology
and internet is a major concern. Respondents have revealed they engage in
gaming and downloading videos through smart phones. Nearly 25 per cent of
the people have experienced withdrawal symptoms when not using mobile
phones."

"With increasing penetration of internet and availability of affordable mobile

devices, a large proportion of the Indian population is getting exposed to
internet and mobiles. There is an urgentneed to focus on health hazards due
to these," Garg said.

Dr Nand Kumar, professor in the department of psychiatry at AIIMS, said:

"There was a time when cases of behavioural changes were found in
technologically advanced countries such as South Korea, but today, it has
become a concern for Indians. I have come across several patients who fear
losing their phones and they cannot imagine their lives without them."

"People are developing behavioural problems such as not getting proper

sleep. Many a time they develop troublesome symptoms such as stress,
anxiety, insomnia, depression, delinquency, aggressiveness, loss of
concentration and memory, fatigue and headache," Kumar added.

According to the survey, approximately 56 per cent of the respondents rated

themselves to be having at least one of the nine features of behavioural
symptoms.

Of these, 35.41 per cent endorsed that they have preoccupation or obsession
with it and experienced withdrawal symptoms when not doing it. The findings
of the study was published in the latest issue of Journal of The Association of
Physicians of India.