Use, misuse of mobile phones

There is a trend in Kashmir nowadays that children are using cell phones excessively. When a child is only one to two years old, the first thing which parents introduce to him is the cell phone. The toddlers don’t even eat their meals without watching the cartoon videos. The mother plays rhymes on the phone and feeds the baby. The same is the case with teens. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lower class students in schools were allowed to attend online classes which was the need of an hour. From that phase, every teenager in the valley is misusing cell phones in the wrong way. Small children instead of studying are playing video games and are watching videos. Now they are giving a lame excuse to their parents that they need a cell phone which is a complete lie. They are betraying their parents in the name of academics. Students are taking to cell phones to their schools and when we ask them they say that they switch off their mobiles in classrooms. Were children not studying when cell phone was not introduced in Kashmir? Today children are too addicted to cell phones than books. They are forcing their parents to buy a mobile phone even if they can’t afford it. Parents are not aware that what kind of content their children are watching. Some without the knowledge of their parents watch content that can often lead to crimes in society. There is more competition among teenagers as to who will get an expensive cellphone. They are least concerned about their academic performance. This has impacted the overall studies of the students. It is the responsibility of parents to not give cell phones in the hands of children. The schools must not allow cell phones with lower class students. The Government must ban the usage of mobile phones for small children so that they don’t face future health issues and remain safe from hate content on social media.