SHILLONG: Our times are steeped in technological wonders. The luxuries and conveniences have, in fact, overwhelmed us all. None of us wishes to be left behind. What is most noteworthy is that some of those technological advantages are also being abused to an extreme extent. This misuse has gone so far as to weaken both body and mind. Yet we remain unconcerned about their impact at the individual level. We merrily ignore the hard times countless households across the nation are experiencing as a result of these consequences. Coming to the point, I say with utmost emphasis that we have gravely corrupted our minds by plunging too deeply into digital conveniences—most dangerously, into the grip of social media.
Leaving aside adults, the younger generation’s growing engagement in social media has now become a serious cause for concern. The way platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and YouTube flood young minds with endless and often unhealthy content deserves serious study. Many psychologists and neuroscientists have long expressed alarm at this trend. This issue was also raised very thoughtfully recently by MLA and former Minister of Arts and Culture of Meghalaya — Bah Paul Lyngdoh. We must thank Bah Paul Lyngdoh for drawing attention to the matter in the Meghalaya Assembly and urging the government to give it serious thought.
One assistant principal of a Higher Secondary School asserts: “In today’s world, mobile phones have become a serious source of distraction and harmful exposure for schoolchildren. Of course, what begins as a harmless habit of watching cartoons or short videos, which parents often allow, soon grows into a dependency that is deeply harmful.” Very true. We often notice how young children or teenagers become restless without their devices. When they get a little older, they cannot sit through a single lesson without popping their head up to check for new likes or notifications. Frankly speaking, they find it very difficult to focus on their studies for even ten minutes. Whether one agrees or not, these constant distractions, especially from academic work, have taken a heavy toll on one’s performance, discipline, and mental balance. What is most disturbing is that much of the content served to users is selected by systems designed to hold their attention for as long as possible. Sensational, provocative, obscene, or emotionally charged material is deliberately promoted to catch more eyeballs and go viral. The “algorithms,” cunningly devised by money-hungry companies to push such content, are no less dangerous.
Yes, steady dependence on this stream of visuals gradually hardens into “obsession”. Is this not worse? The young mind, unable to resist the lure of flashy visuals and endless scrolling, clings to the cell phone as if it were its second self. When this obsession is interrupted, for instance, when parents take away the phone, the reaction can be extreme, exploding into anger. Some even throw weird tantrums, refusing food or pushing it away, when their parents snatch their mobile sets. This anger does not rise against the parents, but against the fact that they are forced to part with the phone — the very object that has already enslaved the child.
To say that “repeated anger’ brings a kind of “memory blindness” is no exaggeration. When anger takes hold, the mind loses stability. Its ability to think critically may then begin to weaken. In a deeper sense, “loss of memory” does not mean ordinary forgetfulness. It means losing touch with “innate wisdom”, values, and past experiences that should guide present judgment. Let me draw a comparison in modern parlance — if the data in a laptop’s RAM were suddenly erased while it was running, active programs would freeze, unsaved work would disappear, and the system might crash. In much the same way, when children keep losing memory due to an obsession with digital distractions or with sensory objects, their minds begin to malfunction. They gradually lose their sense of responsibility, not only toward their studies but also toward their family, society, and even their own well‑being.
How can we overlook the rising number of youths committing shocking acts, even heinous crimes, simply because they were restricted from using mobile phones or objects of obsession? A few weeks ago in Maharashtra, a heart‑breaking tragedy unfolded when a 19‑year‑old boy, distressed by his parents’ argument over payment issues for an iPhone they had purchased, jumped from the edge of a hill in anger. What unfolded next was even more spine‑chilling. In a desperate attempt to save his son, his father also fell, and moments later, his mother committed suicide by jumping from the same place after seeing both her son and husband fall to their deaths. Is this not reason enough for the government to act decisively and urgently on such dreadful issues? Closer to home, in Meghalaya, probably about two years ago, a 10-year-old girl from the village of Mawryngkneng committed suicide after her parents asked her to focus on her studies and not use her phone.
It is not that children do not love their parents or deliberately wish to harm themselves. Their minds are overpowered by delusion born of memory loss, unable to grasp critically that the love of their parents and the care for themselves is far more precious than any mobile phone. This is the tragic danger of unchecked digital obsession in the present times. It uncontrollably interferes with the faculty of judgment, weakens memory, and distorts values, leading to choices that can destroy families and shake society to the core.
Thus, when happiness and pleasure are encouraged to be sought only from external sensory gratifications as addictive as drugs, we fail ourselves, we fail our society, and we fail our civilisation. The Meghalaya legislator Bah Paul has already pressed the wake‑up button. Nations like Australia, Finland, Sweden, Poland, China, and France have taken strong measures to uninstall digital waste from young minds. India, it seems, is still busy hitting snooze!
