In today’s technological era, our system may boast about the ever increasing number of mobile phone owners, and claim that in the 21st century we are providing everything at our fingertips. But perhaps by being engrossed in technology, we are forgetting that we are destroying our heritage. At the same time, children and youth are being misled. This is because, at an age when they ought to be playing field games, listening to stories of brave men and reading books, our young children have fallen into the clutches of online games. In today’s materialistic era, parents are short of time, due to which they give mobile phones to children at an age when they should have toys in their hands.

This is really unfortunate. In fact, the increasing inclination of youth and children towards online games is not just a problem for India. In the last few years, a different kind of craze for this has developed among children all over the world. This is now taking the form of addiction. Many studies show that this addiction is having a negative impact on the physical and mental health of children. Despite this, the situation in India is not hidden from us. In our country, even a two-year-old child is given a mobile phone. And he grows up watching the mobile with great interest. It is noteworthy that in 2017, more than 130 children died in Russia due to online games.

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So far, about 100 children have embraced death in India. Children become so addicted to online games that they forget eating and drinking, and remain engaged in them day and night. Their sleep is affected and they become irritable. According to another source, currently about thirty crore people play online games in India. And by 2028, this number is likely to increase to 55 crore. From this it can be estimated that a large population of India is busy playing online games. At present, some estimates suggest the online gaming market in the country is between Rs 7,000 to 10,000 crore, and is expected to reach Rs 29,000 crore soon. According to a FICCI report, an increase of 26 per cent has been recorded in “transaction-based” games.

These figures point to the magnitude of the situation. But our system does not seem to be unduly bothered, nor do families seem to care enough to see what children and young adults are doing on their mobile phones. A child can fall easy prey to online game addiction; thus it is the responsibility of parents, guardians and society to ensure this does not happen. It is noteworthy that the World Health Organization has identified addiction to playing online games (which has been named gaming disorder) as a mental illness. According to the WHO, online gaming can be as addictive as ‘cocaine’ and ‘gambling’. This problem has become even more acute after the period of Covid-19. During the Covid-19 period, children’s participation in online gaming increased by 41 per cent. Also, the addiction to online games has been seen more among the children of nuclear families. It is also a bitter truth that children are becoming aggressive and violent by getting involved in online games. Sometimes the game also pushes them towards depression. Many have turned obese.

In the past years, many children lost their lives in India due to games like ‘Blue Whale’. It is a worrying situation that online games are running rampant in our country without proper regulations. When a child plays mobile and computer games continuously for hours, it has serious side effects on his eyes and other body parts. Curbing online games is the need of the hour and should be taken seriously. While the ubiquitous mobile has become a critical and sometimes indispensable part of our lives, it has also caused great harm. There are some children who get addicted to the phone from childhood. Many times parents also offer the lure of a mobile phone because they are busy, or sometimes only to feed a child.

This soon becomes an addiction and adversely affects the child’s development. Children who are exposed to mobile screens at an early age and who spend more time on mobile devices have a higher risk of developing behavioral problems like depression and anxiety. It is time to pause and reflect. (The writer is Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, Kanpur Institute of Technology.)