SPEAK UP

PUNE | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2010

www.dnaindia.com | epaper.dnaindia.com 4
EXPERT VIEW
People are forgetting the
art of making conversation
Pay a mental price for Web habit
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
or chat with each other instead of talking. Obvi-
depression’
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
I feel the situation is grave. Awareness among parents regard-
published in the
ing symptoms of addiction is lacking. We have been receiving
Archives of Pediatrics
such cases since the last two years, but there may be many more
& Adolescent Medicine
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-
sion exists only in case of ‘pathological’
dictive activities and should be used in
a disciplined manner. Parents must
unable to restrain themselves. This
hampers social relationships. Peo-
ality rather than ‘virtual reality’.
Maybe we should go back and rede-
start losing touch with the real
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. its perils at the school level.
The problem of Internet addiction exists, but the controllable use. much of the Internet can be harmful. exercise and meditation now.
situation is not as serious as depicted. If your work Sahil Khan, Manjusha Kshirsagar,
involves extensive use of the Internet, it cannot be Navin Kabra, Pranav Shah, Jay Bhalerao, chief lifestyle activist, teacher, Raja Dhanraj Girji
termed as an addiction. I have to spend more than creator, PuneTech.com student student thetossedsalad.com Junior College
nine hours on the Internet every day. It does get a
little monotonous, but I am doing it only because
I get paid for it. On Sunday, I just stay away from
the Internet and try to get together with my friends and relatives.

Salman Khan is all for a noble cause

I don’t think it counts as an addiction if you have to be on-
line at work, but overuse among youngsters can be hazardous.
I do feel depressed when I am overworked, but find a way to get Inbox
out of it. Addictive behaviour can be related to anything; it de- PMC must restore water supply
pends on how you handle it.
or refund tax Pledges support to Go India Foundation’s blood donation camp to be held on August 15
Sangita Sahu, This is with reference to ‘Tanker water for 350 Preeti Devnani 2008 Vijender Singh and
search engine optimisation (SEO) expert fringe areas’ (DNA, July 31). shooter Jaspal Rana.
Bollywood star Salman Khan “A nationwide blood dona-
Rajesh Rao, Jay Tripathi & Mallika Rale
team GET IN TOUCH: Please email us your views at
I am a resident of a co-operative housing so- has pledged his support to Go tion drive will be held on Au-
ciety on Vishrantwadi-Dhanori Road under India Foundation’s initiative gust 15 over 250 districts.
speak up punespeakup@dnaindia.net ,
or call on 020- 39888888 extn 125. the jurisdiction of the Pune Municipal Cor- of organising a blood donation This campaign will create a
poration (PMC). Though the society has camp in the city on August 15. record by collecting a target-
pipelines, not a single drop comes out of Last Sunday, members of ed 63,000 units of blood in a
them. Since there was no supply of water the Pune chapter of the or- single day and will be a part
from the PMC, the society management ganisation met Salman at his of the Limca and Guinness
arranged for a tanker on payment from its home in Mumbai seeking help Book of World Records. All
funds for 15 minutes on alternative days. for the cause. The actor not those who are a part of this
Thus, residents of the society are paying wa- only agreed to lend a helping campaign will create history
ter tax along with the property tax at Rs1,000 hand by endorsing the for a humane cause. Our tar-
even when there is no water supply. The campaign, but also launched Salman Khan signing a donor T-shirt get is to provide India 100%
PMC is gaining monetarily while the society the donor T-shirts. Lamba met Salman. Russia, New Zealand, UAE safe voluntary blood, so that
is losing its funds in the process. President of Go India Foun- So far, renowned personal- and Sri Lanka. the need of replacement do-
I want to suggest to managing committees of dation’s Maharashtra chapter ities who have supported the “Icons who have registered nation never arises,” said
housing societies facing similar problems to re- Vikramsinh Khatal-Patil, cause include chief of staff of themselves as donors include Landage.
quest the PMC to refund the water and property president of the Pune chapter the Indian Army Gen VN former Indian cricket captain In Pune, blood donation
tax to every citizen. It should also stop taxing us Jayraj Landage and vice-pres- Singh, Sahara chief Subroto Sourav Ganguly, former cap- camps will be held at SP Col-
till the water supply is ensured by it. I hope the ident of the Pune chapter Roy, fashion designer Ritu tain of the Indian hockey team lege, Mahatma Phule Muse-
authorities do the needful in the matter. Shashikant Kamble along Beri, chief ministers and gov- Dhanraj Pillay, actor Ritieish um on Ghole Road, Bharati
with the chairperson of the ernors of different states, am- Deshmukh, bronze medallist Vidyapeeth, MIT College at
—P Madhavan Nair, Vishrantwadi organisation from Delhi Alka bassadors of countries like (boxing) of Beijing Olympics Kothrud and Azam Campus.

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