MUMBAI: Screen addiction is emerging as one of the big concerns in a digital age, with a new study from a premier medical school in Mumbai stating that those prone to depression or having a low self-esteem are at a higher risk of getting addicted.
The study, which found screen addiction even among adults and not just youngsters under 25 years of age, said content with violence and nudity was a motivation for more screen time. The study was conducted by KEM Hospital in Parel between 2020 and 2021 in the three districts of Mumbai, Thane and Palghar.
The study also found strong psychological effects of social media addiction and binge-watching of OTT contents among some youngsters. Addicts would imagine phantom vibrations, with 26% checking their phone for new text messages and another 15% believing their phone has been ringing.
Some of the addicts (17.3%) had a ‘game transfer phenomenon’ in which they would see images, hear music, and tactile sensations or involuntary movements even while not playing the video game. People who binge-watched serials on OTT platforms would have a similar effect called episode-transfer phenomenon. Dr Shilpa Adarkar, professor (psychiatry) at KEM Hospital said, “Over 10% of those with screen addiction had para-social relationships in which they formed emotional relationships with virtual/fictional characters.”
Last month, a survey by an online social community platform called LocalCircles found almost a fifth of the children surveyed spent over six hours on various social or gaming sites. Their parents said that their children displayed aggression, impatience or hyperactivity after prolonged social media interactions.
Incidentally, over three hours of daily social media interactions increases the risk of mental health problems such as depression and anxiety among children, according to US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy's report in 2022.
