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ISLAMABAD: Widespread availability of cheap unlimited text message plans has made the service as preferred mode of communication for youngsters and its excessive use is leading to health problems among them.
Text messaging has become preferred mode of communication for majority of youngsters.
It has surpassed rest of the forms of daily interaction amongst youngsters like face-to-face conversations, voice calling, etc.
Cell phones nowadays have become symbol of independence for youth because mobile phone helps them to develop their own language and social groups away from the prying eyes of their parents.
Apparently, 60 per cent of youngsters send and receive over 125 text messages daily to interact with their peer group.
Excessive texting is leading to a number of problems for kids such as insomnia, depression, lack of eating, isolation etc.
Besides, according to the survey, prolonged engagement with such an activity can lead to diseases like brain tumour, infertility etc.
Almost 90 per cent of those interviewed by APP admitted that they sleep with their cell phone lying next to them and thus, keep slightly awake most of the time during their sleep.
According to analysis, texting at the time of sleep is causing diseases like insomnia, anxiety among youngsters.
Majority of respondents admitted that they are often awakened by a phone call or a text message after going to bed and the lack of sleep has affecting their work and progress.
Around 80 per cent of youngsters said they check their phones every few seconds to see if they have received any message and due to constant fast typing on cell phone's keypad, they feel severe pain in area between thumb and wrist which throbs constantly.
Pakistan National Youth Assembly's President Hanan Ali Abbasi while talking to APP said the immature generation has become addicted to avail these kind a packages.
These kinds of portable platform providers are taking away our youth from family, cultural, traditional and religious values and they did not even care about their health, he remarked.
He said it is the responsibility of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to set certain standards and ask the cellular companies to abide by them to curb this day by day increasing trend which would create big problems for the youth if not address well on time.
“This step is imperative for safeguarding bright future of youngsters, and a code of conduct must be developed to create awareness among masses regarding harmful affects of excessive use of such services”, he said.
The cellular companies seemed in race of announcing free night packages, low rates for one special number etc. regardless of the fact that they are making customers addict of a curse which is not only wasting valuable time of them but distracting their attention from constructive activities, Hannan said.
