Smartphones are causing a mental health pandemic. Anxious generation needs weekly digital detox<\/a><\/p>\nDepression, anxiety & digital addiction<\/p>\n
At the AIIMS Behavioural Addictions Clinic, most patients are between the ages of 13 and 18. But patients from other age groups also seek help. \u201cWe get people in their 20s and 30s. At times, even elderly people come because their family members think that they are always on the phone and they are just passively looking at the content,\u201d said Balhara.<\/p>\n
The clinic has also handled cases linked to online phenomena such as the \u2018Blue Whale Challenge,\u2019 the 2017 AIIMS research article had noted.<\/p>\n
Dr Rajiv Mehta, senior consultant psychiatrist at Sir Gangaram Hospital, described three broad groups: adolescents whose studies suffer, middle-aged women dealing with loneliness or midlife stress, and older adults who are single or living alone.<\/p>\n
\n![\"Institute](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sir-Ganga-Ram.jpg\")
Institute of Neurosciences at Sir Gangaram Hospital in New Delhi | Sneha Richhariya\/ThePrint\n<\/p>\n
Dr Rajesh Goyal, vice chairperson of psychiatry at Sir Gangaram Hospital, recalled a 17-year-old student whose marks dropped sharply in Class 12 after scoring 97 percent in Class 10. \u201cHe was spending hours on Instagram and Facebook. The ability to focus and execute was affected,\u201d Goyal said. \u201cTeachers said he knew the syllabus but could not perform.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Samir Parikh, chairperson of the Fortis National Mental Health Program, described another teenager whose excessive online gaming extended into both day and night, disrupting his sleep and daily functioning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe adolescent developed irregular sleep-wake patterns, persistent fatigue, irritability, reduced physical activity, and a gradual decline in overall health and psychosocial well-being,\u201d said Parikh, who leads Adayu, a centre focusing on providing residential treatment for acute psychiatric crises.<\/p>\n
Mehta said that many fighting couples also come in because they think their partners are always on their mobile phones. \u201cI remember a case where a lawyer brought his 12-year-old daughter for screen dependence. The problem had developed at home\u2014when the child asked for time and attention, the mother, who was herself deeply involved in online gaming, would hand her a second phone instead,\u201d Mehta told ThePrint.<\/p>\n
He added that the numbers had risen since the pandemic: \u201cBefore COVID, we might have seen one case a month. Now we see two to three such cases every day, especially teenagers.\u201d However, doctors said that high screen time doesn\u2019t always mean addiction.<\/p>\n
\u201cScreen time by itself does not mean much,\u201d Balhara said. \u201cIt depends on the purpose. A coder or a content creator may spend many hours on screens without addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n
The doctor explained that clinically, addiction is about loss of control. \u201cPatients struggle to decide when to start and stop, and continue despite clear harm. Other parts of life\u2014including sleep, meals, studies, work and relationships\u2014are pushed aside,\u201d Balhara said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen someone prioritises a screen over sleep, meals, relationships and responsibilities\u2014and still cannot stop despite knowing the damage\u2014that is when we call it addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Balhara explained that the diagnosis for screen-related addictions is not based only on screen time.<\/p>\n
Doctors also look at whether the behaviour causes significant impairment in personal, social, educational, or occupational functioning and persists over a sustained period \u2014 typically around 12 months.<\/p>\n
This is based on structured assessments and screening tools developed on ICD-11 criteria, the global standard for tracking and comparing health data, injuries, and causes of death.<\/p>\n
Doctors say that digital addiction and other mental health issues rarely exist independently.<\/p>\n
So, for instance, a teenager who spends nights gaming may develop depression after academic failure and family conflict. At the same time, someone with social anxiety may turn to online spaces because they feel safer there, and gradually lose control.<\/p>\n
Mehta described it as a cycle. \u201cDepression and anxiety can lead to digital addiction, and digital addiction can worsen depression and anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHO classification of gaming disorder<\/p>\n
In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) formally recognised gaming disorder in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), its global standard for diagnosing, recording and tracking diseases and health conditions. Similarly, gambling was also included in ICD-11.<\/p>\n
WHO classified gambling disorder under \u201cdisorders due to addictive behaviours\u201d. It describes the condition as a pattern of persistent or recurrent gambling where a person loses control, prioritises gambling over daily life, and continues despite harmful consequences.<\/p>\n
Several countries have adopted different approaches to curb harmful digital use among young people. Australia has prohibited social media access for children below 16, while China restricts minors\u2019 online gaming time through real-name verification systems.<\/p>\n
Singapore emphasises media literacy and cyber-wellness education to promote healthier digital habits, while the UK has introduced a Digital Resilience Framework aimed at schools and online platforms. In addition, many countries have begun limiting or banning smartphone use in classrooms.<\/p>\n
Prevention, early detection<\/p>\n
The magnitude of the problem led the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to approve the establishment of the Centre for Advanced Research on Addictive Behaviours (CAR-AB), the first-of-its-kind centre in the country, in February 2025.<\/p>\n
The CAR-AB is meant to develop evidence-based interventions targeted at problematic and excessive use of technology, especially among children and youth.<\/p>\n
At AIIMS, treatment is now being paired with research. The ICMR-funded Centre for Advanced Research on Addictive Behaviours is undertaking multiple studies to address the growing public health concerns about internet and technology-related addictions among children and adolescents.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne focuses on developing an AI-based vulnerability prediction model to identify children and adolescents who may be at risk of developing addictive behaviours later in life,\u201d Balhara said.<\/p>\n
Researchers are collecting data from schools and colleges to train a machine-learning model that can predict the likelihood of addiction emerging over the next two, five or 10 years.<\/p>\n
Another study aims to develop a prevention-focused intervention targeted at students, teachers and parents. \u201cThis will be among the first evidence-based prevention programmes in the Indian context. The intervention is expected to begin around April-May this year and will be validated among school and college students,\u201d Balhara said.<\/p>\n
In addition, the team is developing screening tools to enable early detection of problematic or addictive internet use, along with a structured counselling module, which is expected to be rolled out next year.<\/p>\n
Data collection for the first study on an AI-based vulnerability prediction model has already begun and is scheduled to be completed by April 2026. The research is being conducted across six sites\u2014Delhi, Rishikesh, Shillong, Patna, Bhopal and Puducherry\u2014and will include at least 2,000 students, with a target of 3,000-4,000 participants.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnalysis is expected to be completed in May, with results likely by the end of the month,\u201d Balhara said. \u201cWe don\u2019t tell people to say no to the internet. The internet is not the enemy. Our focus is to stop problematic use and promote safe, healthy use. The goal is control, not complete removal.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)<\/p>\n
Also Read: #GenerationNowhere: India\u2019s young are fighting an invisible epidemic, smartphone addiction<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cBy the time he reached AIIMS, the financial damage was already done,\u201d added Balhara, who is in charge…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":475556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[6116,93206,64,63,91132,137,514,515,242285],"class_list":{"0":"post-475555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-addiction","9":"tag-aiims-delhi","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-gaming-addiction","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-mental-health","15":"tag-mentalhealth","16":"tag-smartphone-addiction"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"AIIMS,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AIIMS-Delhi.jpg\")
AIIMS, New Delhi | Sneha Richhariya\/ThePrint\n<\/p>\n