Parental control, selective curbs can reduce screen time for new gen

Young generation of today is glued to digital devices. Affordable internet cost, good quality mobile devices and improving standard of living are driving the digital revolution in India. So, today’s youth is highly exposed to the digital world through various forms. Such exposure has led to several outcomes- some are positives and others are negative.

Let’s discuss one of the studies that have come out recently on impact of short videos on young minds. Reportedly, prolonged exposure to short/very short videos is leading to ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). According to the study, prolonged exposure to fast, emotionally-charged content keeps neural networks in a state of perpetual readiness. This is leading to anxiety, attention deficit and related neural problems.

As social media platforms are aggressively promoting reels/shorts to viewers through their algorithm, viewers are increasingly glued to such short form videos. Such a phenomenon is playing out in every household across India.

Toddlers to teens, young India seems to have been addicted to such short form videos. To schools to colleges, watching mobile phones for long time has become a usual complain of parents to teachers about their children. In many ways, there are several negative repercussions of such phenomenon.

The reading habit of children is slowly coming down in most households. 10-15 years back, children were given various kinds of books like story books, comic books and others in parent’s bid to open children’s minds to imagination. Similarly, children were prompted to go outside and play with other kids in their locality.

These two things have certainly reduced in the last decade with children becoming more comfortable with internet world. The advent of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude among others are aggravating the situation. Now, teens are interacting with these tools frequently for various activities like problem solving to career counselling to life advice.

Now, when young people rely more on an AI tool to vent their heart out and take life advice, then loneliness increases. All these phenomena show that youth is relying more on the digital world in their daily lives, leaving behind old ways of doing things. Such exposure is creating new problem for the society like attention deficit to mental health problems.

Now, for overcoming such situation, some states in India have demanded that social media should be banned for teens. Globally, Australia became the first country to ban social media for children under 16. Some other countries have also followed suit. Such action is increasingly getting more resonance among many across various nations. But India has to weigh all the options before banning social media for children.

It is the reality that social media platforms are not only the places for entertainment, but many serious creators are alsocreating good content in fields of education, health, social awareness, and other sectors. It means children are not only exposed to bad but there are also multiple good creations to learn from. So, it is better if some technology application can differentiate between entertainment and serious content. If tagging is introduced with content like education, science, entertainment when a video content is uploaded, then some kind of regulations to control excessive emotional content can be restricted.

However, social media has also exposed our

young people to the world. They learn the best practices across the world on various matters. Therefore, any ban should take into account the positive aspects of digital platforms. Moreover, awareness should be spread about parental control of digital devices. This will ensure children are not exposed to harmful content on the web.