Should we limit our usage of cellphones, internet and TV to have back our mental peace?

Around six years ago a student from IIT Kanpur came to our research Institute for 2-3 months’ internship. We are situated in rural Maharashtra and back then did not have either an excellent internet or cell phone on the web connectivity. Couple of days into his internship he discovered one day that there had been no signal in his cell phone. He simply went berserk and would visit my room every 10 minutes asking whether I am able to call the local phone individuals to restore the signal. Observing his obsessive behavior I was puzzled on how to react and soon realized that she suffered from tremendous insecurity thereby felt that by not having the ability to talk to his friends he was losing out on something. His behavior was almost prefer that of a fish out regarding water!
This behavior is not unique and it is now commonly seen in nearly all youngsters. All over the world the need to chat, text and take photographs is so intense that almost every waking minute a person is glued to his/her cell cell phone or internet. This itch to use the cell phone continuously has become a nuisance as well as a hazard not only in India but around the globe.
Why have we become such compulsive users of cellphones?
A part of this phenomenon could be explained by the belief that brain reacts to two biggest inputs – sight and sound. Both these inputs take primacy within the brain over other sensory impulses. Thus the ringing of the device and the flashing message are very difficult to ignore. Also the loud tone very close to the ears either through head phones or cellular telephone has a mesmerizing effect around the brain.
However, I think an essential reason for this malady would be the insecurity which leads to the fear of a person on “missing out”. This insecurity is an integral part of an ever expanding spiral – while using the inability to analyze and appraise the information, a person simply keeps on reacting increasingly to input signals.

The information over-load from cellphones, internet and TV is making us able to only reacting to events instead of sit calmly and analyze them. This is almost like a good animal behavior where they only reply to inputs. The difference between humans and animals would be the ability of humans to make use of their big brain to effectively process and digest the data. I somehow feel that most of us (specially the youngsters) are dropping this ability.
This has serious repercussions around the future wellbeing of society since were raising generations of young people who only understand how to react. This is already noticed in the explosion of social advertising like Facebook, twitter etc. where without their power to analyze and think deeply youngsters reply to any rumors or gossip in the immature way.
Cell phones and internet are very useful devices and have manufactured a difference for better on the globe. However they are tools regarding communication and information and we have to not become their slaves. Their use may be moderated through discipline so that any of us allow our minds to absorb and digest the data rather than be overloaded and overwhelmed by it.
For starters, we can be off internet and cellphones for one day in weekly. This day can be helpful to just sit and talk or read and do various other activities which allow us to interact actively with our environment. This is the message I have been giving for last many years in inspirational foretells youngsters all over India.
Mahatma Gandhi understood this power of silence sometime ago. He used to have maun vrat (vow of silence) weekly so that he could imagine, reflect and write. He was to something that the present generation is going to do well to emulate.
The reaction respond to inputs and information overload is additionally creating nonsocial individuals. Last year I gave a talk to IIT Kanpur (my alma mater) individuals. In my interactions with them I found out that a lot of the students, though they were surviving in adjacent rooms or in a similar hostel, would spend their time chatting around the phone or interacting with each other via SMS or chat / email message over the internet. They seem to be losing the ability to carry out face to deal with social
interaction with their pals. This creates strange situations and sometimes brings about loneliness. And in some cases specifically for introvert students pushes them toward suicide.
A face to face interaction regardless of how unpleasant it is does help to let the steam away. Unfortunately the cyberspace technology will never be able to transmit fully yet the human emotions!
Thus for youngsters and others here's the message. Switch off the cellular telephone, TV and internet for 1 day in a week; relax, go through, talk and do some physical activity and the world will not really stop. Sun will still rise from the east as well and more than that your “silence of electronic information” gives