Smart phones are small innocuous looking gadgets often found lying innocently in our pockets or bags, but they are capable of causing massive psychological and physical damage to us and our children, if we do not learn to use them judiciously. It is now a proven fact that intensive use of these electronic devices can cause many mental and emotional problems like sleep deprivation, mood swings and depression. It can also lead to various relationship problems when our social interactions become less personal and less empathetic, as we promptly connect to others on our mobile phones or text them messages. Hence our interactions are eventually of a lower quality as there is no personal or eye contact or sharing of our feelings or emotions over the phone. However, technology is like a double-edged sword and we can either use it to our advantage or to our disadvantage. The choice is always ours. Our smart phones are also a boon for us in many ways, as we can take instant pictures, share the pictures and connect instantly with each other in case of an emergency.
Adolescents pass through many physical and psychological changes as they cross their adolescence phase. Hormonal upheavals in their body and their sense of establishing a self-identity are some of the reasons of these changes. It is also called the age of puberty. This is the time when the adolescents need to take a lot of care, not only of their diet but also of peer pressures, their thinking and sleeping patterns. How much they sleep, when they sleep and whether they have a regular, healthy, night sleep - all these factors play an important role in the development of their emotional, cognitive and physical health.
late night mobile-phone use by adolescents, which is often called ‘vamping’, not only interferes with their sleep patterns, but it also harms their mental and emotional health. We find many teenagers hooked on to their mobile phones today.We see bizarre scenes on the roads or on airports or bus stops nowadays, where we find youth smiling and talking to no one in particular, but into their mobile phones plugged into their ears, oblivious of what is going on around them. It is the same scene, even when they are driving or on two wheelers. It is a scary scenario everywhere today, where we find young boys and smaller children engrossed, even addicted to a virtual world of mobiles and i-pads, away from reality.
It is a matter of great concern that youngsters have taken their mobile phones into their bedrooms and many times they are busy listening to music or talking to friends late into the night. Some who fear being caught and reprimanded by their parents are hiding and using them beneath their bed covers even in the dark.The dim lit screen of their mobiles are sufficient for them to keep their dialogue going, not understanding the fact how injurious these escapades are for their mental health.
The latest study on vamping should send a big warning signal to the parents of the teenagers. Conducted at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, this was the first long-term study that found out how night- phone use and mental health were co-related. They studied 1,101 children in the 13 to 16 years age group for over four years and this linked late-night texting and phone use to depressed moods, lower self-esteem and reduced coping abilities. These children also had lower academic performance. This study high lighted the damage the mobile phones are doing to our youth.
It has been found that misuse and late night use of mobile phones by adolescents is harming them in more ways than one. They not only deprive them of their sleep but eventually they feel less sleepy and the quality of the sleep they have is also affected. As a result, they wake up heavy headed in the mornings unable to feel fresh enough to take charge of their daily chores. They are eventually more prone to feeling more irritated, angry and aggressive over trivial issues.They are also more prone to rash driving and accidents.
A study conducted by Charles Czeisler, published in ‘Nature’-the international journal of science, explained how the artificial blue light emitted from electronic devices activates the ‘arousing neurons’ in the brain. This arousal interrupts the body’s natural ability to produce melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone.
All these facts are sufficient to stress the parents and jolt them out of their ignorance.They have to take charge and set limits for their children for various activities at home. It can be done in concurrence with the child where both parents and children mutually agree to basic rules in the house, as to when to sleep, how much of mobile phone use is justified and so on. When parents establish healthy sleep routines at home and control the use of media before and during bed time, children experience healthier outcomes. Parents have to be good role models and curb their own use of mobile phones also, only then will the children listen to them or follow their advice. Whenever parents decide to give a smart phone to their child, they should talk to them about its uses, its hazards, how much it should be used. They should also warn them of the fact that it causes deprivation of and hinders sleep at night, which can be very injurious to health. So, it should not be used excessively, especially during the night. Children should be taught to get their 7-8 hours of healthy regular sleep at night so that they can remain healthy and keep stress, depression and fatigue at bay.
(The writer is a neuro-psychologist, founder of Pari Foundation and a CSBE counsellor.)