Smartphone addiction

What is addiction? Wikipedia says that Addiction is the continued repetition of a behavior, despite adverse consequences, or a neurological impairment leading to such behaviors. Psychologists define it as a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (gambling) that can be pleasurable but the continued use of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work or relationships, or health. Users may not be aware that their behavior is out of control and causing problems for themselves and others.

Medicos describe addicts as those people, who have no control over what they are doing, taking or using. Their addiction may reach a point at which it is harmful. Addictions do not only include physical things we consume, such as drugs or alcohol, but may include virtually anything, such abstract things as gambling to seemingly harmless products, such as chocolates. In the good old days, there used to be alcohol or drug addicts and gamblers. Other forms of addiction must have been latently there, but rules of personal and social behaviour were so stringent that chances of addictions of most other types used to be fairly well controlled. Let me explain this! Let us first consider the personal behaviour aspect.

When I was a kid, most of the families around used to be large with a senior person as the head of the family. He controlled, how members of his family behaved. What were working and leisure hours? What kind of food or drink was consumed and when? What kind of attire was worn by the members and when? There were strict modes for behaviour; for example, not arguing with elders or raising your voice while talking to them. All this meant that individual members of a family just had to behave in a particular way; like a military camp to say. This no doubt suppressed individual aspirations and freedoms but kept strict control on behaviour of individuals.

Similarly, there were even stricter norms, for behaviour within a society. These norms again covered dressing, modes of behaviour, speaking and communication with others. Traditions paid a big part here too. All this meant that any person, who wanted to behave in a way, not in tune with prevalent social norms in the society, was ostracized and restricted.

All this started to change during last few decades. I do not want to go into the reasons for the social change, but as nuclear families emerged, so was the complete relaxation of earlier rigid norms of individual and social behaviour. With these profound changes in the individual and social behaviour, came in changes, in habits of the people. With the new habits, came newer forms of addictions too. Psychologists, health care professionals and even lay people now believe that any kind of psychological dependency, which may be caused by simple day-to-day human functions like work, exercise, sex, use of internet, etc. should also be counted as addictions. The reason for this assumption is that this dependency also can lead to feelings of guilt, shame, hopelessness, despair, failure, rejection, anxiety and/or humiliation. Technology also has helped this change in many ways. When I was in college, even listening to popular tunes or songs was something, that was difficult to do. In a family, if at all it had a device like radio, what programs are to be listened to was usually decided by the patriarch of the family, who almost always differed with what young generation preferred.

Telephone was one such contraption. When I was young, I used to be scared of even answering a call on a land line, leave aside making it. Call duration also was a great matter of concern. Old habits die hard. Even today, everyone complains that talking to me on telephone is a short affair as I just hang up the phone, once the message has been communicated; I can not help it. Making long conversations on phone is just not in my blood.

All this changed, when mobile phones first appeared. Initially they were very expensive and not many could afford the phones as well as the talk time. In India, after the liberalization of telephone network and appearance of private networks, changed all that. Today, almost every other Indian has a mobile phone and the talk time charges have really hit the bottom.

Availability of phones and liberalization of an individual from all the old world behavioural norms- social and within a family- has brought about stupendous changes in the manner in which people use phones today. It is common to see all adult members of a family talking independently on their phones, even when they are together in one room. At public performances, announcements have to made to audience to make them switch off their phones. People talk on their phone, while driving even when it is against the law. However, it turned out that the phone revolution was only just the beginning.

The things became even more complicated, when in the year 1997 Ericsson, a Swedish multinational telecommunications giant brought out a new phone called as GS 88 "Penelope" and called it as a Smart Phone. Early smart phones typically combined the features of a mobile phone with those of another popular consumer device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a media player, a digital camera, or a GPS navigation unit. Modern smart phones obviously have all these features plus the features of a touchscreen computer, including web browsing, Wi-Fi, and 3rd-party apps.

Like any other contraption, wide spread use of smart phones is also bringing out changes in the behavioural pattern of the people, which can soon lead to addiction. What are the symptoms? Getting easily distracted, finding it impossible to deal with the idea of being separated from your smart phone, constantly checking the smart phone for no real reason, are some of the telltale signs. Such affected persons usually show symptoms like the inability to control craving, anxiety, when separated from a smart phone, loss in productivity in studies or at work, and the need to constantly check one’s phone. Such addicts can be easily detected as they always have their heads lowered and use their mobile devices constantly on the go, even while queuing or even crossing the roads. It was observed that a Taiwanese high-schooler could only sleep, when clutching her smart phone in case someone tried to call her. Singapore and Hong Kong have the highest smart phone penetration rates in Asia with 87 percent of Singapore’s 5.4 million population owning smart phones, much higher than 65 percent penetration rate in US. It is obvious that symptoms of smart phone addition are more predominant in Singapore. However even other Asian countries are no way behind with South Korea, China and Taiwan already having taken steps to tackle the issue.

A government survey in 2013, in South Korea, estimated that nearly 20 percent of teenagers were addicted to smart phones. China already has an estimated 300 Internet addiction centres, according to a report on state broadcaster CCTV’s website in February. It also cited a survey showing there may be more than 24 million young Chinese addicted to the Internet.

Perhaps things in India are not as bad mostly because not many young people can afford smart phones. However in the middle classes, as the affluence grows, we are likely to face similar problems. Already we can see many affluent ladies and men all the time with their phones.

Smart phone addiction problem is no way different than any other form of addiction. We would need more counseling centers for the affected people, just as what China as done. Any form of addiction is equally bad as it ruins the mental and physical health of the addict. Smart phone or digital addiction is no exception.

16^th June 2014

Discipline, kids and the law

Few years back, when I was staying in US, I came to know from one of my friends there, about a strange but very thought provoking incident. This incident took place in the life of a senior citizen from India, who along with his wife had come to US for visiting his son and son's family and had planned to stay there for few months. His son had two children of a very awkward age, who were neither small kids nor teenagers. On this particular day, both parents of these children, being care free because of the presence of the grandparents in the house, had gone out for a day and were expected to return in the night. The grandparents usually lived in India on their own and were not much used to the din and commotion created by the children and found it hard to cope up. Since the parents were not home, the children had created considerable ruckus in the house. The poor granddad managed to bear with the rumpus for a long time but when the grandchildren started pushing and pulling him he got really peeved and irritated and gave a big slap to one of the grandchildren.

The children, who were raised in the US from their birth and who were trained there as per social norms prevalent in US, found it impossible to bear the fact that this rather unfamiliar old man, who had recently come to their house from India, physically assaulted them. As per training received by them, the children immediately called the police. Within 5 minutes the police came, found out what has happened and straight way handcuffed the old man and took him to police station leaving behind the grandmother and the grandchildren. When the parents returned home, they found out what had happened in their absence. However since it was night time, nothing much could be done. Next morning, after submission of required papers and completion of all formalities, grandfather was released from police custody. This middle class senior citizen from India, who had never committed even any traffic offense in India, was shell shocked and frustrated with his experience. He simply phoned his wife and told her to come to police station with his clothes, money and passport and when she arrived, left for the airport straight from the police station. He along with his wife, took the next available return flight to India.

I do not know the extent to which this story is true? Or how much spice has been added to it. But from my own experiences in US, the probability of it's occurrence appears to be quite on the high side.

Whenever I had an occasion to listen to any of the American (originally from India) parents trying to rebuke or lecture their kids for foolish behaviour or for creating commotion, I get a feeling of sympathy or pity growing inside me. These parents can not go beyond statements like “ We are not going to do that. O.K.” or “This is not proper, behave, O.K.” This word "O.K." is so loaded with feelings of extreme anger, frustration and bitterness that unless it is heard, it is very difficult to imagine the inbound feeling of helplessness in it. If a punishment is needed to be given to the kids, the severe most punishment is usually spending few minutes in the garage and which is popularly known as “Timeout”.

If anyone draws a conclusion from my dislike for the way in which American parents try to discipline their children that I am all for slapping or beating children, they would be totally off the target. Its a fact, that when I was a kid, I was hammered by some odd teacher or by my mother or father couple of times. But I find this physical violence method of disciplining children quite distasteful. I still quite remember the pain, anger and insult felt by me about 60 years ago, when a standby teacher had slapped my face.

An occasional slap given to a child is really a tip of an iceberg. Real social problem in India or any where in the world is about the violence and the cruelty shown to children. The stringent laws made in US are in reality for preventing this violence with children. I am on this subject today because recently I became aware that Government of India is planning to introduce a new law about violence and cruelty shown to children and also child abuse, which I consider as a good and necessary action. If this law comes into force, we are likely to face in India similar situation as in US. There is an old saying in English “ Spare the rod and spoil the child” The famous English author Charles Dickens has described very effectively the plight of small kids under heavy discipline of Victorian England in his famous novels like 'Oliver Twist' or 'David Copperfield' . Most of my readers must have read these books. It is said that after Dickens wrote these books, school reforms were pushed in England. In India, we have been lucky and never had these kind of schools bordering on cruelty.

This proposed law now stipulates that any harsh punishment given to children by schools, kindergartens or for that matter by parents and relatives would be a cognizable offense and children in India can complain to Police and eventually subject the schools or persons to a criminal suite. First such offense invites a fine of Rs. 5000 and one year jail term. Any subsequent offense by the same person would make him liable to a fine of Rs. 25000 and a jail term of 3 years. Presently guiding principles suggested by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) are used as legal remedy for prevention of cruelty to children. Woman and child development ministry of the Government of India has now finalized a new legislative bill called as 'Prevention of offenses against child, bill. This bill when passed by the Indian Parliament would become the law of the land.

The bill describes in details what actions could be considered as harsh punishments or enforcement of any unlawful behaviour. Cruelty shown to children and any action of abuse to take sexual, economic, physical and social advantage at the cost of child would be liable for punishment under this law. Specific penal clauses are specified in this bill for forcing a child to beg or make them work or ask them to carry out dangerous domestic or outside work, would be offenses all and specific punishments have been prescribed in the bill. Criminal acts like sexual abuse, involving child in drug trafficking or making a child consume a narcotic substance, exhibiting pornographic materials to children would all invite life imprisonment punishments. Schools, kindergartens, relatives, neighbours, friends, day care centers and even jails and remand homes would come under the ambit of this law.

We do see even today in big cities of India, children begging or selling some stuff on the road junctions. In North India, poor children are commonly made to work in hazardous and polluted work places. The India society even today treats poor and destitute children in most inhumane manner. The new bill would be a good counter measure against such behaviour. Some of the parents or grandparents, still used to old ways, are likely to suffer in the initial periods. But largely such an act would definitely help in giving the kids a new deal. There appears to be no doubt about that.

15^th February 2014