The excessive love and addiction for smart phones especially amongst the younger generation is leading to Inexplicable situations. More than often we find a young person crossing the road using the mobile virtually unconcerned about the moving traffic. Whether in metros, buses, or while eating at home or in restaurant, individuals remain glued to their smart phones unmindful of people around them. Also majority of the individuals are unaware of the ill-effects of smart phone addiction and the toll it takes in our physical or mental health.
While children and adolescents are always at high risk of ending up being smart phone addict, a situation wherein they become fidgety if their phone is not with them or they are not browsing it, numerous studies show how such addictions lead to negative addiction. Numerous studies suggest how the over dependency on gadgets leads to anxiety and depression, besides other mental health issues.
Just reflect on the time you were glued to your mobile browsing through your social media handle or seeing a movie through Netflix in night. You were feeling sleepy yet fighting the sleep to see the movie. Probably well after midnight, when you have finished seeing the movie and your eyes red due to the overexposure, you try to go to sleep. But you will realize that the urge to sleep which was bothering you was no longer there. Different research suggests that the ‘blue-ish’ emitted by these electronic devices disrupts the normal sleep pattern. Well, this issue of sleeping disorder is not the only problem we might face due to over exposure and addiction to our smart phones and the almost complete dependency on the Internet. There are several others which include: lower concentration, creativity blocks, aggravated attention deficit, stress, loneliness, insecurity, impaired relationships, different psychological disorders and even reduced level of cognition.
Definitely we think this addiction to smart phones and the over-dependence on the Internet is a global pandemic and needs urgent attention. There are several synonymous terms which have evolved for Internet addiction. These includes: cyberspace addiction, online addiction, net addiction, Internet addicted disorder and high Internet depend. While there are groups around the world which are trying to find solutions to limit the use of smart phones and reduce Internet addiction amongst individuals especially young people, we will in this conversation focus on cyber fasting.
Vedabhyas Kundu: Munazah, let us first share with all the concept of cyber fasting and how it evolved. To mark the 148th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the children and youth group, The Peace Gong initiated cyber-fasting to encourage individuals to limit the use of their smart phones, log off from their virtual world and enjoy the world around them. It was a brain child of Prof T K Thomas, a veteran media educationist and one of the founders of The Peace Gong. Since time immemorial, fasting has been considered as an apt remedy for a variety of issues like weight control, blood sugar control and several other medical concerns. It is also considered as an important ingredient for cleansing our bodies, a strategy for relaxation and healing. It has always played an important role in different cultures and religion across the world.
The aim of cyber-fasting according to The Peace Gong was to encourage individuals to completely log off from their smart phones and the virtual world for a specific period of time. Initially, it was encouraged to do cyber- fasting during Gandhi Jayanti (October 2, International Day of Nonviolence), Martyrdom Day (January 30) and a few other important days associated with Mahatma Gandhi. The concept of cyber fasting was a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi who used the strategy of fasting for self-purification and to raise his voice for truth and nonviolence. During the course of India’s freedom struggle, he resorted to fasting for several causes to promote peace and harmony.
Munazah Shah: Definitely, Vedabhyas, cyber fasting if promoted at different forums right from our schools, colleges, and in different institutions can have positive effect to nullify the negative impact of the pandemic that the world presently is facing. This pandemic of over-use of smart phones, Internet, and other electronic devices is now a global public health concern. A recent study on how Internet addiction affects the behaviour and development of adolescents by the University College London points out, “There was an overall decrease in the functional connectivity in the parts of the brain involved in active thinking (the executive control network). These changes were found to lead to addictive behaviours and tendencies in adolescents, as well as behaviour changes associated with intellectual ability, physical coordination, mental health and development.” (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/jun/internet-addiction-affects-behaviour-and-development-adolescents)
It is in this backdrop, we must promote cyber-fasting. It is extremely critical given the enormous amount of information and toxic messages that keep on getting accumulated in our mind due to our addiction to smart phones and the Internet. In this context, it would be apt to remember the Mahatma who had written in his Autobiography, “Fasting and similar discipline is, therefore, one of the means to the end of self-restraint, but it is not all, and if physical fasting is not accompanied by mental fasting, it is bound to end in hypocrisy and disaster.”
So Vedabhyas, we must promote cyber-fasting as a form of both physical and mental fasting which has major health benefits for us. When we are doing cyber-fasting, we are limiting the use of our eyes seeing the screen, our shoulders as we are not using our smart phones or other electronic devices, and we are not sitting or lying continuously glued to the mobile. It definitely helps in our physical well-being. Moreover, as during cyber-fasting, we are not uploading junk messages, junk information and toxic resources in our brain; it helps in our mental well-being.
Vedabhyas, let us shape events and campaigns to make cyber-fasting a smart thing to do today which contributes to our joy, happiness and well-being.
Vedabhyas Kundu: I totally agree with you Munazah. The idea and importance of cyber-fasting can be made popular in schools, colleges and other institutions. At a time when the intricate relationships in families are getting disrupted due to over-use of smart phones and Internet, Munazah, I think we could start by promoting the concept at the family levels. Let us motivate families to shun their devices while eating, and encourage them to spend time together. Recently, I was having a conversation with Prof Biplab Loho Choudhury, Visva- Bharati University, Shantiniketan in this regard. He was concerned at the poor level of communication amongst family members today. Father goes in one way, mother in another opposite direction, and children in totally reverse direction. Even on Sundays, family members, if they are at home prefer to remain glued in their smart phones and browse their favourite social media handles or see movies, etc.
Munazah Shah: So Vedabhyas, in order to promote cyber-fasting as an in-thing for individuals who give primacy to their well-being and happiness let us try to do the following:
- Connect with schools and other educational institutions with a flyer. We can encourage young people to take pledge to do cyber-fasting.
- Motivate institutions to do special events where individuals come together, have fun and take up in talks but refrain from using their smart phones during the event.
- Encourage people to take up the practice of journaling for self-reflection, self-introspection and expression of gratitude instead of browsing their smart phones. This is a powerful strategy of mental fasting.
- Encourage people to take up cyber-fasting in special days like The Peace Gong motivated individuals to do in days associated with Mahatma Gandhi.
- Recognize the efforts of individuals and institutions that encourage and promote cyber-fasting.
We sincerely believe that for a joyful world which promotes deeper connections amongst individuals and their genuine happiness, we must encourage cyber-fasting as a strategy at a global level. It will not only work as a potion for smart phone and Internet addiction, it will genuinely contribute to our physical and mental well-being. Cyber-fasting to us is an essential pillar of our concept of JoyfulTalisman, human values for a joyful world. It needs to be an important life-skill to be practiced in this hypertechnological age. Besides, we feel logging- off can also contribute to both inner and outer peace. We invite institutions and individuals to organize campaigns and events which encourages cyber-fasting.
