Scrolling Away Survival Skills & The Robust Brew of Change!!
#newspaperinlearning
27th March 2026
Picture this situation where a child who is barely four years old, is holding a smartphone in hand, and with the nuanced precision of a seasoned pro, their tiny thumb swipes through a maze of reels, again and again and again!
This is quite a common scene we see every single day of our lives! Ain’t we?
Now, let’s take a minute to picture yet another situation! Where you as an adult - indulge yourself in doom-scrolling through Instagram or YouTube, only to realise – albeit with a deep sense of guilt – that two or three golden hours have vanished and vapourised into thin air?
Wait! You aren’t alone in this! But what if that compulsive need to keep scrolling isn’t a lack of willpower on your part, but a carefully engineered bait that’s meant to trap and chain you for hours without end?
Well, that’s where the hard truth is laid bare!
Social media algorithms are not designed to educate; they are designed to captivate! Yes! They are meant to take us captive!
And the sad thing here is that, when a child as young as four years old, is spending hours lost in the dopamine maze of social media, they aren’t just losing time! They are sacrificing the crucial, foundational survival skills they need to navigate the real world.
Some of the foundational survival skills they need to navigate the real world are -
Firstly, Reading and Writing! Well, reading requires sustained focus and patience - two things short-form videos actively destroy. When a child’s brain is wired for instant entertainment reels, sitting down to read, or write down a sentence feels agonisingly slow and unrewarding.
Secondly, the Art of Conversation! The child loses out on the gentle art of conversation – a huge people skill that’s high in demand today! Talking to people requires reading body language, understanding vocal tone, and practicing the messy, beautiful rhythm of human interaction.
Thirdly, the ability to listen to people in real world situations! – to pay attention, and truly process what another person is saying to them!
Finally, they lose the power of empathy! Real-life interaction almost always involves some kind of friction or the other. Kids need to argue over toys, negotiate rules in games, and figure out how to apologise when they are wrong! They cannot learn empathy from emojis!
In the midst of this sordid state of affairs, there seems to be a ray of hope! A kinda light at the end of the tunnel at last!
I happened to read a highly pertinent article in today’s The Economic Times, that highlights two recent landmark legal verdicts in the US holding tech giants Meta and Google accountable for the grave mental harm caused to a 20-year old woman (she had been using YouTube since age 6 and Instagram since age 9).
Just a day earlier, the same jury in Los Angeles had also ordered Meta to pay a staggering $375 million for misleading users about children’s safety regarding sexual predators.
Well, bespeaks a lot to the fact that governments the world over are at last waking up to the urgency of the situation!
To understand why the jury found these platforms negligent, we have to look at neuroscience for a while!
So what do social media platforms and slot machines have in common? Guess! 😊
Yes! Rewards that stimulate the brain into yearning for more!
Every time the child gets a like, a comment, or an algorithmically tweaked video, their brain’s reward centre releases a hit of dopamine. Scientists call this “dopa-mining”.
In teenagers, whose prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain responsible for judgment and impulse control) is still developing, it can be devastating, thereby dulling the brain’s pleasure response to the “real world out there”.
As a result, all of a sudden, studying, sleeping, and hanging out with friends feel boring compared to the high-speed dopamine hits of personalised prompts, constant notifications and fine-tuned feeds.
Perhaps the most chilling part of the LA trial was the unearthing of internal documents from Meta. The memos revealed that the company fully understood this neuroscience and actively strategised to hook kids young, directing an army of trained teams to “bring them in as tweens”.
The question is no longer if social media is engineering addiction in our youth. The question is whether our laws are capable enough and fast enough to protect them.
And thankfully, lawmakers are at last waking up!
It is so heartening to note that, we are witnessing a rapid, global wave of legislation. Australia has just enacted a national minimum age of 16 for social media, backed by massive fines. Similarly, France has also banned social media for kids under 15. Spain, the UK, and New Zealand are currently drafting similar legislations.
In India, with over 49 crore social media users and a massive youth population, the nation is at a critical juncture. Recent surveys show that nearly half of urban Indian parents report their children spending three+ hours daily on social media. The human cost is real and tragic, with recent reports of youth self-harm linked to screen-time restrictions.
Karnataka recently became the first Indian state to announce a ban on social media for under-16s, with Andhra Pradesh following closely behind for under-13s. Moreover, the Union IT Ministry is now in active discussions regarding age-based compliance.
Change is indeed brewing!
And a ‘robust’ brew indeed!! 😊
PS: One lovely alternative to de-addiction and digital detox that I tell my students is – the importance of engaging in tree walks or bird walks!
If social media algorithms are designed for instant, effortless gratification, the natural world of birds, trees and forests, demands exactly the opposite.
Engaging ourselves in tree walks, nature walks or bird walks are real antidotes to the harmful effects of scrolling!
Birdwatching is considered an exercise in patience, and it helps in rebuilding sustained focus. You can’t swipe a branch to make a bird appear faster. 😊
Waiting quietly for a sunbird or a barbet to reveal itself requires a sustained attention that helps rewire brains accustomed to 30-second thrills. It replaces the exhausting overstimulation of screens with what psychologists would call “soft fascination” - allowing the exhausted prefrontal cortex to rest, recover, and heal!
On a bird walk, listening is just as crucial as looking. Distinguishing between the rustle of the wind and the specific call of a local species forces young minds to tune in, filter out background noise, and be entirely present in the moment, thus rebuilding the gentle art of listening!
Moreover, stepping into a forest makes us aware of the fact that we are part of a larger, interconnected ecosystem – thus fostering a deep sense of ecological empathy and stewardship!
So happy to note that we had quite a lot of tree walks, bird walks and forest walks this academic year, where our students were happily immersed in paying attention to the tunes of nature!
This blogger, while on a bird walking trek deep into the forests! 😊
And yes! If you’re interested in nature trails that run deep into the forests, do ping me! Shall add you to our vibrant band of bird walkers! 😊
You may want to read our past blogpost HERE for a glimpse into an immersive Green Walk in our campus with the vibrant II MA English Class.
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