BENGALURU: On November 5, Amitesh Das, a class seven student wrote an essay that read, “The games we play on our gadgets keep coming in our head, like, ‘I need this player in this game’ or ‘I need to reach the next level’ and keep our minds engaged and keep our concentration away from studies and our academic performance falls.” Amitesh was one among the many students of Bethany High, Koramangala, who took part in the Digital Detox Champion Award. His essay goes on to end with, “If we leave these games, we can spend more time outside and spend more quality time studying… This is how digital detox helps us.”
The Digital Detox initiative was launched in July, where children were told that regulating their use of the internet and gadgets could help them gain rewards and recognition. The management, students and parents agreed upon a policy that the parents will share the child’s electronic usage time with the school. Dr Akash Ryall, director of Bethany High, says, “Some parents approached us and told us they were struggling with having a conversation with their kids. They requested the school to intervene. When we researched digital addiction, we found that it can be worse than substance addiction.”
Rewards were distributed across three categories: Those who gave up their gadgets completely, those who used it only on weekends and those who used gadgets for only one hour every day. “We announced the results during the general assembly so as to motivate more students to take part in it. And for those who didn’t take part, we will be holding another round. The winners will be declared at the end of the school year, in March,” says Dr Akash, adding that across seven institutions, around 100 students were given the award.
Beginning early
Besides schools, parents too are turning to digital detox programmes. In April, city-based mother Shalini Srivastava sent her 12-year-old daughter for a detox programme meant for kids aged 10-15 years old. Since it was during the summer vacation, Shalini didn’t want her daughter watching TV or surfing the internet for hours. “I thought it would be a good way for her to indulge in different activities. Once the programme was done, my daughter took an interest in gardening,” says Shalini.
Ishwarya Kumar Ahmed and Sudhalini Devadason, co-founders and directors of Upturn Learning Solutions LLP, which launched the initiative, soon started getting requests from parents to launch the programme for younger children too. The duo introduced a junior slot (for five-eight year olds) for the second season of the initiative, which will begin towards the end of November.
During season 1, the programme was conducted over the course of eight days. Season two, however, has been planned over a span of 12 weeks. “We wanted the programme to be more immersive. The kids will get a chance to recreate the famous Malgudi Days and develop an interest in reading and folklore, learn Kalaripayattu, take part in DIY projects and even be part of a fun offline science experiment,” explains Ishwarya.
Plugging out
In the first week of October, Time Out From Plugins, an initiative started by city-based mother Tejaswi Uthappa, was launched at Delhi Public School – Bangalore North. The idea was simple: To get students to pledge to time out from plug-ins. Tejaswi recalls instances where parents in her circle would tell her they don’t see themselves in their children’s lives anymore or have to compete with a screen for their attention. “The idea was never to abstain. Instead, by logging out of devices for two hours, we could prevent misuse and spend that time fostering real world connections with our loved ones,” she says. Besides a social media campaign, more schools and hangouts are being approached in order to spread the word.