Managing monster of social media addiction

Aurangabad, May 26:

Social media, the networking platform where people share their ideas, views, opinions, videos, audios, pictures or news, was considered a great and effective tool of communication sans any hindrance. People belonging to all age groups have taken a fancy to platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google .

What was once a boon is increasingly being seen as a curse now owing to long hours people, particularly youngsters, spend on social media. Signs of addiction like being overly concerned about social media, an uncontrollable urge to log on and devoting so much time and effort to it social media that it impairs other important life areas, are being seen.

Srushti Pagariya spoke to experts to find out the impact of excessive use of social media and ways to wean youngsters away from this addiction.

Dinesh Kolte, Associate professor, MP Law college

Half knowledge is dangerous than no knowledge. Nowadays, atmosphere is all polluted because of social media and its misuse. Youths do not read or study what is the original but comment blindly and trust social media which can create controversy. Social media distracts teens, disrupts their sleep, exposes them to bullying, rumor spreading, presents unrealistic views of other people's lives and creates peer pressure on them. Youngsters live in a virtual world and do not even bother to know what’s happening in the outside world. There is a need in India to control cyber crime. The content should be filtered before public reads it as it can fan rumours. Identity of social media users should be confirmed strictly.

Dr Sana Quadri Khilji, Psychiatrist

Parents should have an eye on kids’ use of social media. Spending quality time with kids is the only way to keep them away from social media. Usually, kids demand tablet or mobile phone as they have seen their friends having these gadgets. Parents oblige to get rid of constant nagging by children. Good for parents for short term but in the long term this can be harmful for kids. Time young people spend on social media should be monitored and controlled.

Overuse of social media causes depression, anxiety, sleep problems, eating concerns, and suicide risk. Social media content should be filtered because nowadays everyone can access anything. We need to have control over explicit content. Physical exercise is all what teens need now. Kids share every moment of their life on social media which can invite unnecessary trouble.

Dr Sandip Sisodiya, Counsellor

r/Psychologist

Kids are living in virtual world. Social media narrows the wirings of the brain and restricts if from having broader point of view. Emotions get compressed, one gets self obsessed and thinks whatever he does is right and that everything should happen according to his wishes. Social media affects decision-making, concentration, socialization, physiology, develops irrational belief and one starts feeling insecure about various things.

One can control overuse of social media by physical exercise, listening to songs, reading books, meeting people whom we love. Most important, stop using mobile at night as brain needs to relax (biological clock). Using social media for two hours should be maximum limit.

Social media was made to connect people but is it really connecting? It’s generalizing crimes. Stop gifting mobile to anyone, especially to children. Parents should restrict children and talk to them. Enforce kids to have physical excursion so that they automatically reduce use of social media.

Koushiki Malani, Student

I spend 4-5 hours everyday on social media platforms. Sometimes, I feel irritated and lazy. I am still figuring out how to control excessive use of social media. I uninstalled certain apps which take a lot of time or I try and read a book. I don’t know if I can live without social media. I used to read a lot of books but now my attention span has decreased. I think instead of watching series or reels we should do something more productive and creative.