At a time when the “negative” impact of smartphones on health is being talked about by experts across the world, some doctors in the national Capital have claimed that they too have noticed behaviourial changes in users who are over depended on smartphones and come for counselling.
The changes at times are so subtle that many users don’t realise the reason behind feeling stressed and disoriented, said doctors, adding that the “cell phone lifestyle” is taking its toll on young people as well as adolescents, affecting their health and well-being.
“There was a time when cases of behavioural changes were found in technology advanced countries like South Korea, but today it has become the cause of concern for Indians, including those living in Delhi,” said Dr Nand Kumar, Additional Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at AIIMS.
Dr Kumar said he comes across several patients who fear losing their cell phones. “They just cannot imagine their life without smartphone. Over the years users develop behavioural problems like not getting proper sleep. Many a time they develop troublesome symptoms,” he said.
Health experts said if user suffers from symptoms like stress, anxiety, insomnia , depression , delinquency, aggressiveness, loss of concentration and memory, fatigue, headache then s/he should immediately consult a doctor and limit her/his dependency on phone. Moreover, they pointed out that dependency on smartphones is also hurting social and functional life of users.
In India there are about 4-5 million smartphone users in urban areas and since 2012-2014 there has been 40 to 50 per cent rise in the smartphone users in the country.
Dr Rajeev Mehta, Consultant Psychiatrist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said, “Definitely, dependency on smartphone has increased for the past few years. Even, today a toddler knows the difference between the smartphone and dummy. Children have become addicted to playing games on mobile phone; as a result it can hamper their physical activities leading to obesity.”
Dr Mehta cited an example of one such patient, who was a class 12 student. “His addiction to smartphone hampered his studies. He flunked in the exam. As his parents observed behavioural changes in him, timely counselling was given to the patient. And now, he is responding well,” he said.
While there is no fixed medical treatment for behavioural changes due to dependency on smartphone, said heath experts, adding that the only solution is that people should try to switch off their phone for at least a few hours.