Most boys use mobile devices for online games, while girls use them for social media, says specialist in psychology
-Indonesian children are suffering from mental disorders due to an addiction to mobile devices.
The hospital is currently treating more than 300 pediatric patients, meaning there are around 75 children suffering from mental disorders due to mobile device addiction.
"Every day, I treat about 30 patients. Twenty-five percent of them are gadget-related," she said.
Sujana said he bought a smartphone for his son as a gift for being promoted to grade 6.
But since then, his son's behavior has changed. Syamsul has been using his mobile device until midnight.
After being treated for nearly a month without a device, Syamsul's behavior improved.
"Thank God, it's normal. He’s not emotional anymore,” said Sujana.
The head of Marzuki Mahdi Hospital’s Psychosocial Rehabilitation Installation, Dr. Lahargo Kembaren, said gadget addiction is happening worldwide.
"The World Health Organization (WHO) calls it gaming disorder. It means mental disorders due to excessive gameplay,” said Lahargo.
According to Lahargo, gaming disorder also includes addiction to mobile devices because most games are played on a mobile device or smartphone.
Lahargo said mental disorders due to mobile device addiction can be in the form of depression, anxiety, an inability to distinguish illusions from reality, bipolar disorder and excessive feelings of pleasure or sadness.
"So it’s not him who controls the gadget, but the gadget that controls him," said Lahargo.
Ira said children with device addiction tend to control their parents. She said because they could not stand seeing their children angry, parents would always meet their demands, such as continuing to purchase internet quotas.
Ira said most boys use gadgets to play online games, whereas girls are addicted to social media like Facebook, Instagram and the TikTok video app.
Lahargo asserted that all rehabilitation efforts for people addicted to gadgets must have a digital detoxification dissertation.
"During therapy, they must be separated from the device which is the source of their addiction," he said.
After recovering, said Lahargo, children must have a new way of using a device. He said parents must have rules that limit the use of devices by children.
Ira said that children aged 0 to 2 years should be kept away from a device. She also noted that children under the age of 14 should not be permitted to use the devices.
"For that, parents must become closer to their children and accompany them when using a device," she suggested.
