Algorithms of the mind: Let's protect the young from technology overuse

Mint

2 days ago

Smartphones have become an extended part of us. They are so integrated into our daily life that imagining a day without them gives withdrawal symptoms to many. They almost navigate our lives. With developments in artificial intelligence (AI), our dependence on phones has gone beyond simple reminders to complex tasks like ordering groceries, sending emails and preparing Excel presentations.
The evolution of voice-enabled assistants like Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant has turned science fiction into reality. Smartphones are more than just tools; they act like modern-day talismans, constantly at our side, reflecting how we think, connect and communicate, quietly shaping our cognitive world. They serve as 'memory on demand,' storing key dates and facts that we can retrieve without having to remember them.
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However, this growing dependence on smartphones is of significant concern for India, home to the world's largest adolescent population, where smartphone usage among teens has grown sharply over the years, accelerated by covid lockdowns. The Annual Status of Education Report (2024) notes that 90% of 14–16-year-olds in rural India have smartphone access, while 82.2% can use them; 57% do so for educational activities and 76% for social media.
Multiple surveys point to growing digital addiction among adolescents. A 2024 survey conducted by Localcircles found that around 50% of urban Indian parents admit that their children, aged 9 to 17, are addicted to videos, gaming and social media. The survey reveals that parents believe excessive screen time contributes to aggression, impatience and lethargy among children.
Additionally, a recently published report by EY states that on average, Indians spend 5 hours a day on their phones, with 69% spent on social media, films, entertainment, music and gaming. A 2025 AIIMS study reveals that children under 5 have an average screen time of 2.2 hours, twice the WHO-recommended limit. These numbers reflect an alarming rise in smartphone usage and screen time across all age groups in India.
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Have you ever felt the need to check your phone while reading a newspaper or working on a task? Perhaps to check a message, text a friend or scroll social media? This is the 'brain drain' effect, where the mere presence of your smartphone draws your cognitive resources away from tasks, reducing attention span and working memory, and making information retention harder. Experiments conducted in 2017 by McCombs School of Business in Texas, involving around 800 smartphone users, suggest that the mere presence of a smartphone diminishes cognitive capacity and impairs cognitive functioning, even when individuals believe they are entirely focused on the assigned task.
Excessive smartphone dependence is also associated with poor academic performance. Quick AI searches have replaced in-depth engagement with study material, undermining reasoning and problem-solving skills. A 2024 study by Zhang and Zeng involving college students in China found that smartphone addiction among students negatively impacts performance and worsens anxiety.
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Apps, websites and notifications are designed to capture user attention, leading to frequent and increased use, linked with increased impulsiveness driven by reward-seeking behaviour. A 2021 study by Wacks and Weinstein associates excessive smartphone usage with difficulties in cognitive-emotion regulation, impulsivity, impaired cognitive function, addiction to social networking, shyness and low self-esteem.
We humans are endowed with cognitive ability, which enables us to process information, imagine, analyse, feel and learn, encompassing facets like memory, attention, language proficiency and spatial awareness, applied in all aspects of our lives from emotional insight to critical thinking.
Critical thinking and creativity are at risk. Generative AI enables 'cognitive offloading' by doing research for assignments, solving complex math problems and more. This has led to 'cognitive miserliness,' making it harder to think critically and leading to greater dependence on AI. This forms a vicious cycle.
So, is GenAI turning into a mental crutch with short-term gains and hidden long-term costs for human intelligence?
Today's 'anxious generation' is overexposed to the world through smartphones, even as GenAI threatens its cognitive abilities.
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Is returning to our traditional form of education, the gurukul system (a smartphone-free space) the solution? Historian Niall Ferguson, in his essay 'AI's great brain robbery and how universities can fight back' in The Times, refers to this as a 'cloister." Within it, students should be encouraged to read printed books, write essays, solve problems using pen and paper, and take oral and written exams.
Unlike many systems that rely on multiple-choice and assignment-based assessments, we still follow the classic exam system that encourages critical thinking, but only partially addresses the problem. This makes ongoing monitoring and targeted reforms crucial to our adaptation plan.
Smartphone and AI overuse has eroded our social skills and real-world connections while harming our mental and physical health, underscoring the need for a targeted response. A recent Indian Express article (July 2025) on screen addiction among Delhi's youth emphasizes the need for policy action.
For children, parental monitoring is key. Parents could delay giving phones to young children, limit device use to educational purposes and encourage physical activity. Families can set 'sundown' times to limit night-time phone use. Parents should model healthy habits by reducing usage and spending quality time together. Schools can also encourage physical activities while promoting deep learning through classroom debates, quizzes, reading clubs and group work during device-free school hours.
Parents and teachers must be made aware of the warning signs of digital addiction to enable timely professional intervention.
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Initiatives like awareness campaigns in colleges and workplaces, developing technology-free zones and the promotion of 'buddy' programmes may help build offline connections and promote open communication for professional support. Adults should be encouraged to undergo voluntary and conscious 'digital diets.' For people facing severe digital addiction, device-free community spaces may be built with professional support.
While concerns over smartphone overuse warrant policy intervention, we must ensure a balance between awareness programmes and professional support to promote healthy digital habits. With a median age of 29, India's demographic dividend is still ahead of us. Education and skilling are deemed necessary to reap this dividend, but too little attention is paid to the need for good mental and physical health for the youth to be economically productive. Lifting India's potential growth is not only about capital formation, education, skilling and technological innovation. It is also about avoiding the harms of technological developments.
These are the authors' personal views
The authors are, respectively, the chief economic advisor to the Government of India and an Indian economic service officer.