In April 2023 The CyberDiplomat met the Health Commissioner and the Deputy Director (Mental Health) of the Government of Karnataka, at the Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfare Services, to discuss the mental and physical health effects of digital overuse.
From awareness sessions to a policy conversation
Much of our cyberpsychology work happens in classrooms and community halls. The same concerns kept surfacing: children who cannot put devices down, sleep lost to screens, anxiety linked to social media, and physical complaints — eyes, posture, inactivity — that parents and teachers see long before a clinician does.
Individual awareness sessions help the families in the room. Only the health system can act at the scale of a state.
Digital overuse is a public-health question, not only a parenting one.
What we discussed
- What we observe in schools, colleges and community programmes across the state.
- Where digital overuse shows up in mental-health services, and where it is currently missed.
- How awareness could be built into existing school health and community health programmes.
- The need for clinicians, educators and technologists to use a shared vocabulary for the problem.
The CyberDiplomat’s advisor Dr. Rajini P. took part in the meeting. Our thanks to the Commissionerate for the time and the openness of the discussion.
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