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Context

• Rising internet addiction in children is worrying experts.

 

Internet Addiction

• Problematic internet use or pathological internet use, is generally defined as problematic, compulsive use of the internet, that results in significant impairment in an individual's function in various life domains over a prolonged period of ti Young people are at particular risk of developing internet addiction disorder.
• Excessive Internet use has not been recognised as a disorder by the World Health Organization, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) or the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).
• The diagnosis of gaming disorder has been included in the ICD-11.

 

Case Study An Internet Deaddiction Clinic, was launched in 2021, the Government Omandurar Medical College Hospital. The Clinic has been catering to clients with overuse of the Internet in various forms. This includes video games, social media, online shopping, online gambling and online pornography. Some are victims of cyberbullying and suffer from sleep disorders, depression, anxiety, strained interpersonal relationships, poor school or work performance.   Recently, the majority of the 67 persons who recently walked into the Internet Deaddiction Clinic at the Government Omandurar Medical College Hospital were adults. 10 of them were aged five to 10 years and 13 of them were aged 11 to 18 years. Among them was a 14-year-old boy, who was brought by his mother with complaints of abnormal hand movements, staying awake late at night to play mobile games, academic decline and lack of interest to write the board exams. The boy, according to doctors, stayed awake till 3 a.m. to play mobile games and compete with friends. He had lost weight and his appetite had reduced. They show less involvement in studies, experience sleep disturbances, anger issues, social withdrawal and have reduced their interaction with family members.

 

Signs and symptoms

• Physical symptoms include a weakened immune system due to lack of sleep, loss of exercise, and increased risk for carpal tunnel syndrome and eye and back strain.
• Symptoms of withdrawal might include agitation, depression, anger and anxiety when the person is away from technology. These psychological symptoms might even turn into physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, tense shoulders and shortness of breath.

 

Emotional Symptoms of Online Addiction

The following symptoms are typical of online addicts:

• Feelings of guilt
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Dishonesty
• Euphoric feelings when in front of the computer
• Unable to keep schedules
• No sense of time
• Isolation
• Defensiveness
• Avoiding doing work
• Agitation

 

Physical Symptoms of Online Addiction

The following symptoms are characteristic of someone who uses the computer for a very long period of time:

• Backache
• Headaches
• Weight gain or loss
• Disturbances in sleep
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Blurred or strained vision

 

Internet addicts are known to be often confused between reality and the online virtual world, causing many serious problems including maladjustment to society, deep attachment to the virtual world, health issues, and conflict with family members.

 

Way Ahead

• Many countries — including Australia, China, Japan, India, Italy, Japan, Korea and Taiwan— already officially recognize tech addiction as a disorder, some even going so far as to declare the issue a public health crisis, leading governments and health-care providers to develop a series of major initiatives to curb the problem. India needs to take a cue from them.
• The livestreaming of unauthorized video games was banned in China, signalling stricter enforcement of rules as part of its broad crackdown on the gaming industry aimed at purging content the government does not approve of.
• Awareness needs to be generated among the youth and their parents about internet addiction and educate them about the use of internet in a responsible manner.

Rajasthan government advisory An advisory by Rajasthan government warned parents and teachers to look out for abnormal behaviour in children to detect and prevent addiction to online gaming. The recent advisory listed measures to protect children from getting overly involved in online gaming, which has become a growing concern of late. The Rajasthan government advisory advised parents to establish an “internet gateway" at home which will help in effectively monitoring their child's internet usage. The document also suggested that it should be ensured that the child accesses internet from a computer placed in family space. Other In India, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has recently launched a counseling app for students called “Dost for life,” which includes counseling for Internet addiction disorder, apart from counseling for depression, anxiety, SLD, etc. Furthermore, in India, treatment for Internet addiction is provided through special clinics for behavioral addiction, in some institutions such as AIIMS, NIMHANS, and RML Hospital. Furthermore, while there are no national policies or programs targeting Internet addiction, the Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS) has developed guidelines for the management of Internet addiction.

 

• In India, there has been a rise in gaming industry, as well as recognition by the government of the benefit of revenue by investing in gaming industry leading to the development of draft guidelines for the regulation of games such as the “Online fantasy sports platforms” in India. There are also plans to set up Center of Excellence for Gaming. However, how these guidelines and center of excellence will have an impact on problematic Internet use needs to be examined further.
• Government policies to restrict the timings children and adolescents indulge online, especially in gaming, for example, “gamer guard” policy in Thailand, “fatigue system” policy in China, and “shut down” policy in South Korea.
• Harm reduction initiatives with respect to Internet addiction involve displaying warning messages and restriction on advertisement or gaming, regulation of product development, etc.
• Public health initiatives that target health promotion, prevention, and treatment for people with Internet addiction. Example: South Korea has implemented a comprehensive national policy for the management of Internet addiction in their country, which has various components such as mandatory training once a year for the prevention of Internet addiction in children, high school youth as well as public institutions, availability of “telephonic counselling” and “home visitation counselling” programs for Internet addiction, and establishment of treatment centers including hospital care for those requiring medications.
• There is also need for multisec
• toral coordination – there should be involvement of public health experts, behavioral addiction experts, and experts from the department of education, information, and technology to promote responsible Internet use.

 

Final Thought

• To summarize, problematic Internet use is a public health concern. It is necessary to have a comprehensive program which targets all the components of Internet addiction – supply reduction, demand reduction, and harm reduction.
• While various initiatives are being undertaken in India such as IPS guidelines, treatment services, restriction in advertisements, and counseling apps by CBSE, there are lot of gaps to be filled – need for national prevalence data, raising awareness of the general public, as well as need for policy or programs targeting all the three components – supply reduction, demand reduction as well as harm reduction to curb the harms due to problematic Internet use.

 

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