The widespread use of the internet and adoption of mobile devices among children amid the Covid pandemic has severely impacted their memories, according to the government. Citing a study, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar told the Lok Sabha that 37.15% of children have experienced reduced levels of concentration due to smartphones.
Chandrasekhar said that Meity does not have any specific information on Internet addiction in children but has studied data of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights on “Effects (Physical, Behavioral and Psycho-Social) of using Mobile Phones and other devices with internet accessibility by children”.
“As per the study, 23.80% of children use smartphones while they are in bed, before going to sleep which increases with age and 37.15% of children, always or frequently, experience reduced levels of concentration due to smartphone use,” the minister said.
As per the study, 59.2% of children use their smartphones for instant messaging applications and only 10.1% of children like to use smartphones for online learning and education.
Surprisingly, 37.8% of 10-year-old have a Facebook account and 24.3% of the same age group have an Instagram account.
The study collected responses from 5,811 participants, comprising 3,491 children, 1534 parents, and 786 teachers from 60 schools across the country.
Chandrasekhar was replying to a question that increase usage of cell phones among children during the pandemic resulted in internet addiction and its details.
