At a time when our lives continue to see an increase in dependence on technology and digital mediums, Manoj Kumar, principal, Tagore Global School, Dyallpura village, Samrala, talks to Lovleen Bains about excessive screen time and its impact on students.What changes have you seen in students due to excessive mobile and social media use?There is a severe decline in attention span and classroom engagement among students. Face-to-face peer interaction has reduced drastically. Empathy and emotional bonding are nowhere to be seen. They are physically present but mentally absent from the class. I have also seen a sharp decline in reading, writing habits, handwriting and creativity, among other things.How is addiction to online gaming and reels affecting the students’ academic performance and concentration?Reels and gaming have resulted in a very short attention span. A 40-minute lecture seems boring to the students as they have become habitual to fast 15-second entertainment. Also, the ability to understand, retain and recall is very poor. They tend to forget lessons as they are often overstimulated due to late-night gaming and scrolling. Incomplete homework, poor handwriting and a sharp fall in results have become common.What health problems are you observing in students?Students complain of headaches and lowered vision. There is a disturbance in their sleep cycle. Due to this, they come to school tired, sleepy and unable to stay active. Because of reduced physical activity and long sitting hours in one posture, students complain of back pain, neck pain, general fatigue and obesity. Their immunity has become low and they fall sick frequently. There is also a serious impact on mental health. Loneliness, depression and low self-esteem among students have become commonplace.What behavioural changes and discipline issues are teachers facing?This has become one of the biggest daily challenges. If a teacher asks a student to pay attention, he or she argues and shows anger. Gaming has made them impulsive. They have lost patience and respect for authority. Students are secretly bringing phones to school and their priorities have undergone a drastic shift from real life to reels. Social withdrawal and estrangement can lead to dangerous consequences.How can we protect our children from the dangers of inappropriate content and cyberbullying?Cyberbullying has also increased a lot, and children are shamed and threatened online. In our school, we organise cyber safety workshops, counselling sessions and awareness talks. School counsellors engage in talks with the students. We also identify students with behavioural changes and work with them, often indirectly, taking their parents and guardians into confidence.What should parents do at home to ensure their children use technology safely?My humble message to all parents is not to give expensive mobile phones to the children. A costly phone is not a sign of love. Your time is more expensive than any phone. The first concrete step is to become a role model. If parents themselves are on the phone for six to seven hours at home, children will copy them. Keep dinner and bedtime phone-free and talk to your children daily about their day. Don’t give personal phones until a child is mature enough. If necessary, give a simple keypad phone for calling. We must divert and channelise their energies towards something positive and worthwhile.What message would you like to give to your students about balancing mobile use and studies?The mobile is not the sole task you have to accomplish. If you control your phone today, you will control your future tomorrow. The mobile phone is just a tool to make your life easy; it is not your life. Fix your time. Use an alarm and keep the phone away while studying. Finish your homework, play and family talk first, and then use phones as a reward. Your marks, your health and your character are the real things, not followers and likes. Use mobiles for learning new skills, but switch off the phone when you eat, study and sleep.