Today almost everyone uses a cell phone, irrespective of age. Even a three-year-old child starts using a mobile phone without understanding the consequences. Interestingly, many parents are also unaware of the problems that come along with it.
First of all, the device itself raises concerns about health. Apart from that, the content available on it can sometimes be even more dangerous than the device itself. A newborn generation is facing serious risks from early exposure to mobile phones. Mobile devices are associated with issues such as radiation concerns, blue light exposure, and possible impacts on brain development. These effects may remain with them throughout their lives. Yet many parents, without sufficient awareness, give screens to children simply to keep them calm.
Apparently, it becomes a short-term solution. Parents can quiet the child because the child’s instincts are controlled by the senses, and the senses are controlled by the screen. In that moment, both the parent and the child appear satisfied.
In reality, many people are not fully aware of the dangerous side of mobile phones—how far they should be used, what the limitations should be, and where they should be kept. These devices carry a vast amount of content, not all of which is healthy or beneficial.
Interestingly, very few people truly understand the small device they carry with them throughout their lives. Some people even take their phones into the toilet because they cannot leave them behind. There are waterproof cases that allow people to use their phones even while showering. Even during those ten or fifteen minutes, the screen must remain present. We have forgotten what the mobile phone was originally meant for. Life has become the screen, and the screen has become life.
Many people today suffer from insomnia. As a solution, they use their phones during bedtime, almost like a sleeping pill. In reality, this habit often worsens the problem, even though it appears to offer a temporary solution. It is, in many ways, an irresponsible use of the device.
I am not sure whether many people truly understand what responsible mobile usage means. The problem is not developing slowly; it is spreading rapidly. The end result could be a generation that moves around the planet like broiler chickens—alive, but not fully aware or engaged.
It is sad to see so many people walking with their necks bent downward toward their phones. On roads, streets, in cafés, at gatherings, bus stops, trains—almost everywhere. This is also one reason why so many accidents occur today. People often have no time to look away from the screen and notice the world moving around them.
One day I went for an Ayurvedic therapy session and met a therapist from a northeastern state. He was very skilled at his work. However, what struck me was that he carried his mobile phone into the therapy room. Initially, I felt irritated, but I chose to observe quietly, as I often do in order to learn and write. Even during the session, he checked his phone several times—responding to messages and attending calls. It seemed less like a habit and more like a psychological attachment.
A helper from Odisha once came to work at my farmhouse. She was illiterate and had lived most of her life without using a mobile phone. Later, for communication purposes, we arranged a phone for her since she was managing the household work. Gradually her usage increased to the point where she could not live without it.
What I see today is that many people behave as if the mobile phone came into the world with them at birth. They feel it cannot be separated from their lives. For many, there is no life without the device.
Throughout human history there have been many struggles against different forms of slavery. We have read about the conflicts between Americans and Africans during the era of slavery, the struggles between landlords and workers, and the emergence of ideologies such as Marxism and communism. Even our independence movements were, in many ways, battles for freedom.
Interestingly, in the modern world, a new form of control has quietly emerged. Large corporations have introduced systems that create a different kind of dependency—especially among white-collar societies. The difference is that earlier forms of slavery were physical. This one is psychological.
The mobile phone is no longer merely influencing us. In many ways, it is giving us orders.