Devendra Kumar Budakoti
Parents of young children and adolescents today are increasingly worried about excessive mobile phone use. It is now common to see children glued to their screens for hours, often remaining online almost around the clock.
When I once asked a teenager, Padhani, why he was constantly on his mobile phone, he looked at me and replied, “Then what should I do?”
His simple yet thought-provoking response compelled me to examine the issue more deeply. I soon realized that the obsession with mobile phones is not confined to children alone. Adults, too, spend a significant part of their day on their smartphones. This raises an important question: if excessive phone use is undesirable, why do we criticize only the younger generation? More importantly, do we have any meaningful alternatives to offer them?
Ms. Sonali Verma, an educationist from Dehradun, believes that restricting children alone cannot solve the problem.
“The growing overuse of mobile phones has become a serious concern for families. In my view, this challenge cannot be solved through restrictions alone. It requires conscious effort and, above all, parents leading by example. These are the principles that I strongly believe in and strive to practise in my own life and with my children. This is also one topic I really struggle to put across to the parents in my school.”
Dr. Paritosh Upreti, Assistant Professor at a Government Degree College in Uttarakhand, offers another perspective.
“There are several reasons why children—and adults—spend so much time on their phones. Smartphones are deliberately designed to be highly engaging, with endless videos, games and notifications. At the same time, many real-world activities have become less accessible because of shrinking outdoor spaces, busy parents and fewer opportunities to meet friends.”
He also points out that adults themselves normalize excessive phone use. If parents are constantly looking at their screens, children naturally accept such behaviour as normal.
According to Dr. Upreti, when a child asks, “What should I do instead?”, the most honest response is, “Let’s find something meaningful to do together.” Children rarely abandon screens simply because they are instructed to do so. They willingly disconnect only when they are offered something more engaging and fulfilling.
Mr. Tularam Sharma echoes this sentiment. He believes that parents must first reduce their own dependence on mobile phones and consciously spend more quality time with their children.
The shrinking physical and social spaces outside our homes have steadily expanded the influence of the virtual world. Earlier generations spent their leisure hours playing in open fields, cycling through neighbourhoods, interacting with friends, and participating in community activities. Today, much of that social interaction has shifted online through gaming platforms, social media, messaging applications and digital entertainment.
The rapid expansion of online education, e-commerce, digital banking, remote work and virtual communication has transformed everyday life. While these technological advances have brought immense convenience, they have also reduced face-to-face interactions that once formed the foundation of community life. Even senior citizens are increasingly dependent on smartphones and the internet for communication, entertainment and daily activities.
With rapid advances in Information Technology and the growing integration of Artificial Intelligence, the physical and social world may continue to shrink. The coming decades may witness profound changes not only in how we communicate but also in our cognitive abilities, family relationships, kinship patterns and broader social structures.
The real question, therefore, is not whether technology will transform society—it certainly will. The question is whether we are consciously preparing for these changes or merely drifting towards what futurist Alvin Toffler famously described as “Future Shock.”
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The author is a sociologist and alumni of JNU. His research is quoted in the books of Nobel laureate economist Prof Amartya Sen.
