India opens tech addiction clinic
Addiction – be it to alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, drugs or even sex – can be a serious problem.
Now authorities in India consider addiction to technology among teenagers to be such a problem that a “technology de-addiction” centre has been opened in Bangalore.
The Indian Express reports that the newly-opened centre – run by India’s premier mental health hospital, the National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences – seeks to treat teenagers’ obsessions with social networking and instant chatting sites, texting and mobile games.
It says the tech de-addiction clinic was launched a month ago when doctors decided that the affliction required a clinical set-up to diagnose and suggest therapy measures.
“Parents lament that their son or daughter is spending far too much time on the smartphone, or posting numerous photos on Facebook, or complaining of anxiety, loneliness and boredom when denied use of the device,” said Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma, one of the doctors running the clinic.
