No kidding! Gadget obsession may affect kids' behaviour

INDORE: For Akhilesh (name changed), a Class X student, gadgets and phone are an obsession. This being the cause of worry for his parents, he was taken to a consulting psychiatrist who diagnosed him with attention deficiency hyperactive disorder (ADHD). According to the psychiatrist, the student's behaviour indicated abnormalities adversely affecting his social and personal life. Akhilesh is one of the many examples among children who spend abnormally long hours in front of computer and cell phones.
TOI spoke to a few psychiatrists and some parents on issue to gauge the severity of the behaviour.
Dr Abhay Paliwal, a consulting psychiatrist, said "We witness many cases where parents come complaining about their children continuously stuck with their mobile phone and computers. These are the kind of signs one should be worried about as it may indicate obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, or attention deficiency hyperactive disorder (ADHD)."
Dr Ujjwal Sardesai, another consulting psychiatrist, said "Even if such behaviours do not suggest any specific syndrome, it can be clinical. It could be OCD if there is excessive obsession or compulsion along with anxiety of being left behind. It could also be depression if the person spends too much time in isolation except for the phone or computer."
Referring to a case Dr Sardesai said she came across a young OCD patient. She said the girl suffered from OCD which had got so severe that couldn't stop herself from using her smartphone even in her classroom. "This 18-year-old girl's father had noticed her using mobile phone excessively. She would check her phone often without any SMS or mail notifications. Gradually, this affected her PMT preparation. We had to put her on medication and during counselling sessions she admitted to other compulsive behaviours like washing hands frequently."
Ratna Chouksey, a homemaker and a mother of three, is worried about the behaviour of her 10-year-old son Aditya. "He is smart and grasps the operation of these gadgets pretty fast. But recently he has been spending most of his day either with his PS or on internet. He hardly goes out to play with his friends. I feel he gets irritated quickly. His lack of attention in any other thing apart from his gadget or computer worries me."
Sangeeta Pawar is mother of a 24-year-old son and gets tense over the behavioural problems of his son. "My son has become forgetful lately. His eating habits too have changed as he spends extended hours in front of his laptop."