Screen addiction among children threatens a generation in Kashmir

Srinagar, Oct 5: Once-lively playgrounds across Kashmir now stand empty, as children increasingly trade cricket bats and footballs for glowing screens. Health experts warn that this growing dependence is creating a silent crisis that could reshape an entire generation.

“I gave my son the phone just so he would eat quietly. Now, even the call of the playground feels like a distant echo,” says Shazia Begum, a mother.

Psychologists say the problem often begins when toddlers are pacified with screens.

“This early conditioning wires children to see devices as comfort. By teenage years, it turns into dependency,” explains Dr Arshid Hussain, noted psychiatrist and Professor of Psychiatry at Government Medical College Srinagar.

Global research underscores the risks. A 2025 meta-analysis of 117