Need for instant gratification on online platforms affects mental health: Study

As the selfie craze and shortform video consumption grows exponentially in India healthcare experts caution that the constant urge to stay connected on digital platforms such as Instagram Facebook and Snapchat is leading to several mental health issues including a condition called phantom pocket vibration syndromePhantom pocket vibration syndrome is when a person feels the phone vibrating in hisher pocket when its not The best way to combat the syndrome is to reduce the overall usage of mobile phones and turn off the vibration sometimesOveruse of mobile phones and social media has severe effects on the mental health of children as well with developing problems like increased risk of depression anxiety loneliness selfharm and even suicidal thoughts Gorav Gupta Senior Consultant Psychiatrist Tulasi Healthcare New Delhi told IANSSometimes social media is the reason for promoting negative experiences like inadequacy about ones life and appearanceSelfie phones and selfie sticks are no longer just a convenience but are considered the new symbol of selfabsorption experts said adding that the selfie fever can further isolate this generation and those to comeBehavioural experts have divided selfies into three broad categories those taken with friends those taken during certain activities or events and those that focus on physical appearanceA study published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture found that people who post a lot of selfies tend to have higher levels of certain narcissistic traits such as fragile selfesteemAccording to experts we should be worried about the nature and the intensity of the digital interface children have Its not only about a selfie or making a videoIts also about why you make a selfie and whether you are feeling conformitypeer pressure on social media are you trying to imitate someone are you losing your originality or you are focused so much upon whether what you post is liked or not that you lose track of what are the more important things in life Samir Parikh Director Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences Fortis Healthcare told IANSWhen it comes to videos the same thing happens More importantly the more digital interface you have the more you are likely to go away from physical activity social engagement academics sports and creativityAnd then more and more of your time is spent indoors in front of a mobile phone So its that aspect of digital interface which is a bigger concern Itll affect your concentration abilities or a physical component or your social aspect Parikh saidParents should encourage children to have a balanced life and engage in physical activities and sports and meet friends the experts advisedSince the beginning of the pandemic and even earlier than that India has seen a huge spike in the number of mobile phone users especially children with the numbers increasing every yearThe best way out of this problem for parents is to limit the amount of time their children spend on these electronic gadgets Avoid giving young or newborn babies phones for playing games or watching videos basically for distracting them Parents can also disallow children to use mobile phones late at night which can sometimes become the reason for insomnia said GuptaAlso read Women with pandemicinduced stress twice as likely to experience changes in menstrual cycle StudyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever