JSS Hospital Opens Special Clinic in Mysuru to Tackle Digital Addiction

Quick Summary

• The JSS Medical College and Hospital in Mysuru has launched a Special Clinic to address mobile and other behavioural addictions.
• The clinic was inaugurated on Friday in collaboration with the Departments of Paediatrics, Psychiatry, and Clinical Psychology.
• Research by JSS AHER reveals that 13.5% to 22% of children, adolescents, and college students are engaging in high-risk digital behavior.
• H. Basavanna Gowdappa, vice-chancellor of JSS AHER, highlighted negative impacts such as reduced social interaction and misuse of devices initially intended for ease of interaction.
• C.P. Madhu,director of JSS Hospital,noted symptoms linked to digital addiction include sleeplessness,anxiety,lack of concentration,psychological distress.
• The facility operates from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., providing psychological interventions like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness-Based stress Reduction (MBSR).
• Digital harm contributors like online deception and harassment are recognized as factors affecting youth mental health.
• The clinic will also serve as a research hub for studies into behavioural addictions while raising awareness about their prevention.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The introduction of this clinic is timely given the escalating concerns around behavioral addictions stemming from pervasive technology use across India’s population-with notable prevalence among youth as per cited figures (13.5%-22%). By addressing these risks through clinical interventions such as CBT alongside public outreach efforts against cyber harms like body shaming or digital harassment-it promises measurable outcomes potentially stabilizing productivity losses/work-life .