Talk time

Reema Joshi,a housewife,says,“My son Mohit is always on his cellphone. As soon as he returns from his college,he starts making calls or receiving them. We stay under one roof but he hardly talks to us.” Explains psychiatrist Dr Ulhas Luktuke,“I get a lot of such cases where parents complain about their child spending great amount of time talking on the mobile phone. Such kids not only ignore their studies but also their parents. Physically,they are at home,but mentally,they are somewhere else. Parents also mention that their children are not open to discussion.” In such cases,Luktuke suggests that planning family outings and activities,which require involvement of the child,may help the child realise the importance of the family.

It’s not just teenagers who are addicted to the gadget,which has become a constant companion for a majority of them. What is the one thing you can’t stay without? Put this one question to any number of people randomly and there are very bright chances that most of them will say ‘mobile phone’. But when this addiction starts reflecting upon the quality of time spent with loved ones,you cannot but blame technology. Things get worse when both husband and wife are working and both have different sets of friends,professional associates and other acquaintances.

Amar Ludhrani,a businessman,says,“Since both of us are working,we are constantly on calls even after coming back from office. We are realising that it is slowly and silently disturbing our lives. The good part is that we both call each other atleast about five-six times a day and since it is easy to express ourselves on phone,the tool comes in handy whenever we have fights. SMS-ing with a sorry or a short call helps in bridging that communication gap.”

Says Dr Arvind Panchanadikar,psychiatrist,“In this age of twitters,blogs and networking sites,people make a lot of friends and don’t hesitate in exchanging numbers.”

According to him,people should use their cellphones judiciously so that those they are closely associated with don’t feel neglected. He suggests that allocating certain phone-free hours for yourself in a day and informing people not to call you during those hours works wonders. Besides,one can also try keeping two cellphones – one for personal calls and one for official ones.