VIJAYAWADA: Technology is a double-edged sword and the same has proved once again. Easy access to technology has increased addiction to watching pornography on smartphones among teens and pre-teens, psychiatrists said.
Psychologist Dr K Rama Reddy, who runs Manasa Hospital in Rajamahendravaram, said the number of cases of children addicted to pornography this year has risen to 120 from 60 last year at his hospital alone.
“It is shocking to see how the children get addicted to porn. There are also girls among my patients, some are as young as 12 years. Mobile addiction is now accepted as a mental illness in international psychiatric circles. It not only affects the children’s academic performance but also hinders their mental growth,” he said.
Dr Reddy said, “Though mobile phone addiction among children is rising, there isn’t a way to address the issue as the mental health infrastructure has a long way to go to even start meeting basic needs.”
TNIE spoke to Prabhu Kiran and Vineetha Karira, coordinators of a rally against mobile phone addiction, Mobilution, taken out by Loyola College students in Vijayawada recently.
What they revealed was enough to make one realise the extent of the addiction.
“Before the rally, we debated on how everybody is getting exposed to porn these days. People agreed that it is becoming a problem as the addiction is seen causing harm, given the falling grades of children who are otherwise bright. We also conducted a survey (Vox Pox) and the results were shocking. Cell phones have become a major part of people’s lives to the extent of making some of them anti-social,” Prabhu Kiran said.
The survey also revealed the extent of phone addiction that has seeped into adults, which is a bad omen, according to Dr Vishal Indla, a psychiatrist. He said children imitate adults; and difficulty in curing mobile phone addiction among the children is compounded by the adults, who are themselves addicted and whose behaviour the children ape.
Dr Vishal Indla, director of VIMHANS Mental Health Care Hospital in Vijayawada, said, “In the past three years, we have seen a rise in children getting addicted to video games and porn on mobile phones. Parents complain of the child’s falling grades and when he/she is counselled, we find out that they are hooked to video games or porn. It is a Herculean task to wean them off the mobile phones once they fall prey to this dangerous habit.”
Most denizens of Vijayawada said they use their phones for five to six hours a day. A youngster said he uses the phone for ‘around 18 hours per day’.
An old man joked he was thinking of a moniker for his phone and said he uses it for ‘nearly 20 hours a day’.