Three lives were lost in Maharashtra on Friday after a dispute over a mobile phone between a 19-year-old and his parents ended in a horrific chain of events. Reports have said the dispute was linked to an iPhone bought on EMI, with the boy allegedly seeking money from his parents to pay the instalments. The tragedy raises a larger question: how much space do high-end smartphones and other gadgets occupy in a young person’s life?
About the case
On Friday, a 19-year-old boy climbed Khavdya Dongar in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar following an argument with his parents. As per reports, he sought money from his parents to pay the instalments of his iPhone bought on EMI. Local police and villagers spent nearly three hours trying to persuade him to step away. But the teenager suddenly jumped, and his father also fell while trying to save him. Seeing them fall, his mother also jumped from the hilltop. All three died.
What the experts say
Psychologist Geetanjali Sharma says the issue can go beyond simply wanting an expensive phone. “There is too much dependency. It’s basically a primary source of dopamine, which starts becoming your escapism mode over time.”
Beyond the tragic outcome of the youth and his family’s death after falling from a cliff, experts says that understanding the circumstances that led up to the incident is equally important.
Counselling psychologist Sachita Sethi explains, “What was the pressure on the boy’s end? What did he face? What influenced him? The thing is, we only look at the end outcome. We don’t focus enough on the build-up and what led to it.”
Psychologist Priyanka Verma says the inability to function without gadgets is a warning sign: “The loss of interest in something even like eating without a smartphone is a sign of addiction. Parents today willingly give a smartphone to their children from a young age just to get them to sit quietly. We’re going to keep increasing how we use technology. So teaching your child how to integrate in social spaces is important.”
