New Delhi: Every morning, 30-year-old Neelam steps out for work as a housemaid. With no one to watch over her three-year-old daughter, Trishna, she leaves behind a mobile phone in the child’s lap — her only way to keep the toddler occupied. What started as a temporary distraction has quietly turned into dependence. The moment the phone is taken away, Trishna screams, throws tantrums and becomes uncontrollable — a distressing scene paediatricians say is now unfolding in households across India.

Seema Chauhan with her twin boys, aged 10 years. Credit: Health on Air

Doctors warn that this growing reliance on screens to pacify children is creating a silent public health crisis. “Screens have become an integral part of children’s lives, especially after Covid, when online classes blurred the line between learning and leisure,” said Dr Gurleen Sikka, a paediatrician at C K Birla Hospital. “While technology has its benefits, excessive screen time is directly harming children’s physical, emotional and cognitive development.”

Dr Sikka said parents routinely ask how much screen time is too much, but the damage is often visible before the question is raised. “Excessive screen exposure disrupts sleep, delays language development due to a lack of face-to-face interaction, reduces empathy and affects a child’s ability to understand social cues,” he said.

“We are also seeing rising obesity, irritability, anxiety, depression and poor emotional regulation. Exposure to violent or inappropriate content can trigger aggressive and impulsive behaviour.”

The Indian Academy of Pediatrics has issued clear guidelines, recommending zero screen exposure for children up to 23 months, limiting screen time to one hour a day for children aged two to five, and less than two hours a day for those between five and 10 years. For adolescents, doctors stress balancing screen use with sleep, physical activity and real-world interaction, and creating screen-free zones at home to encourage family bonding.

Despite these recommendations, reality tells a different story. Dr Girish Tyagi, president of the Delhi Medical Association, said the problem is no longer limited to urban elites. “Technology is part of modern life, but moderation and mindful use are essential,” he said.

Mental health experts say the consequences are already visible. Children spending long hours on mobiles, laptops and computers are reporting sleep deprivation, declining academic performance, anxiety, low self-confidence and behavioural issues. Parents, increasingly alarmed, are now demanding stricter controls on internet access.

A recent LocalCircles survey, based on over 70,000 responses from parents across 368 urban districts, paints a worrying picture. Nearly 47 per cent of parents said their children aged nine to 17 spend three hours or more daily on social media, videos and online games, while 10 per cent reported screen use exceeding six hours a day. Two-thirds of parents said their children were addicted to video and OTT platforms, 61 per cent cited social media addiction, and 52 per cent pointed to online gaming. Emotional fallout was widespread, with parents reporting aggression, impatience and lethargy as common behavioural changes.

The survey also found that 66 per cent of parents want mandatory parental consent for children under 18 to access social media, gaming and OTT platforms, while 25 per cent support Aadhaar-based age verification.

Doctors say the statistics reflect what they are witnessing in clinics. In one case from Delhi-NCR, a three-year-old boy was brought to a paediatric clinic because he could not speak even basic words. The parents admitted he spent five to six hours daily watching cartoons and reels on a mobile phone. “We are increasingly seeing toddlers who cannot form words or even respond to their names because screens have replaced human interaction,” said Dr Malini Singh, a developmental paediatrician. “Many of these children show autism-like symptoms, which improve only after screen withdrawal.” Though the child showed improvement after strict screen restriction and speech therapy, doctors said crucial developmental time had already been lost.

In another case, a 13-year-old student from Amity International School, Saket, Delhi, complained of frequent headaches and blurred vision. Tests revealed early-onset myopia, linked to four hours of daily screen use beyond schoolwork. “Children blink less while staring at screens, leading to dry eyes, eye strain and rapid progression of myopia at a very young age,” said a senior doctor at AIIMS. The child now requires permanent corrective glasses and regular monitoring.

Parents are also grappling with behavioural fallout. Rajpal Siwas, father of an 11-year-old boy, said what began as limited mobile use spiralled into addiction. “My son became irritable, aggressive and socially withdrawn. When we tried to restrict his screen time, he had anger outbursts and anxiety,” he said.

In a more severe case, twin boys aged 10 gained significant weight over two years of excessive screen use, developed neck pain and chronic fatigue, and began avoiding physical activity altogether, their mother Seema Chauhan said.

Health experts warn that unless families, schools and regulators act urgently, an entire generation risks growing up disconnected from real-world relationships, physical play and emotional resilience. What appears to be a harmless glowing screen, they say, is quietly reshaping childhood — with consequences India may only fully realise years later.

(Cover Image Credit: CANVA)