Mobile addiction among children alarming: study warns of Nomophobia surge

chennai: mobile phone addiction is reaching crisis levels among children, with serious mental and physical health implications, reveals a study by professor ashok kumar weeramuthu of savitha university, chennai.the study, conducted among children aged 10 to 19, found that 39-44% have developed mental health issues linked to excessive mobile usage. notably, 76% are constantly engaged in mobile gaming, while 66% reportedly prioritize their phones over emotional connections, including parental affection. an alarming 81% continue using their phones during meals.parental behaviour also contributes significantly—54% of parents admitted to handing over phones to pacify their children.health-wise, 76% of children showed signs of depression, while 77% experienced insomnia, neck pain, obesity, headaches, and impaired vision. furthermore, 93% preferred mobile gaming over outdoor play, affecting physical fitness and bone development. learning difficulties and attention deficits were observed in 40% of the children.prof. weeramuthu noted that post-pandemic online education has normalized mobile dependency. mobile addiction has increased 3.4 times in nuclear families across india—surpassing the global average of 71%. on average, indian youth spend 9 hours daily on mobile phones compared to the global 4.5 hours. around 66% globally are affected by “nomophobia”—the fear of being without a mobile phone.he stressed the need to enforce screen time limits, discourage night-time usage, and introduce digital safety training in schools. children must be encouraged to engage in outdoor activities and be educated on the harmful effects of screen addiction.following the findings, the world health organization has recommended limiting screen time for children aged 5-17 to one hour per day.