Bengaluru: A mix of introspection, expert insights, and a touch of humour marked an engaging session on digital habits for students of MS Ramaiah Institute of Management (MSRIM), as The Times of India’s national initiative, Let’s D-Stress, hosted its first on-campus event in the city Tuesday.The session focused on helping students identify patterns of excessive device use and understand its impact on attention span, sleep, and overall mental well-being through interactive discussions. Participant admits to 16 hours of daily screen timeAhead of the session, students were invited to map their daily screen time on an interactive board using sticky notes. A significant number placed themselves in the ‘deep explorer’ (4–8 hours) and ‘digital native’ (8+ hours) categories. One student even admitted to an astonishing 16 hours of screen time daily. Despite this, most participants felt their usage was reasonable and not excessive.Addressing this perception, Dr Eesha Sharma, associate professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at Nimhans, noted that what feels justified may not always be healthy. “The brain, at its simplest, is always either reacting or responding to the world around us. Every notification, every scroll, every interaction keeps us in this loop of constant engagement. But thinking is different. Thinking requires a pause. The problem is, when we are always reacting and responding — especially through our phones — we rarely give ourselves the time and space to truly think,” she said.Using relatable examples, Dr Eesha urged students to allow themselves moments of boredom, emphasising that these pauses are essential. It is during such periods, she said, that the brain shifts into its “default mode” — a state where it processes experiences, consolidates memories, and makes sense of information.RJ and content creator Shaayan Bhattacharya, who hosted the event, encouraged students to reflect on their habits without judgment. His witty exchanges sparked candid responses, including a surprising revelation — many students said, contrary to popular belief, social media was not their primary distraction; instead, ChatGPT accounted for a large share of their screen time.The interactive format also gave students an opportunity to raise questions around digital behaviour and mental health, touching on emerging ideas such as meta-thinking.The Let’s D-Stress campaign aims to spark a nationwide dialogue on digital stress, its implications, and practical ways to manage it. The initiative has been launched in collaboration with Kochi-based Centre of Excellence in Neurodegeneration and Brain Health (CENABH) as the knowledge partner, along with IIT Delhi and Nimhans as solution partners.Photo quote box: (All mugs in Comyan)The session helped students understand a very basic but important idea — the need to reconnect with themselves, not through digital media, but through interactions with people in the real world. To truly de-stress, it’s important to disconnect from the noise in the digital medium and reconnect with the right people, perspectives, and environments around us.– Savitha Rani, professor and dean (in charge), MSRIMI wish we could have sessions like this more often — every week or every month — because as clinicians, we usually see people only after problems have already escalated. By then, we’ve missed many opportunities for early intervention. Evidence shows that universal prevention strategies, introduced early and widely, are far more effective than targeted or selected prevention– Dr Eesha Sharma, associate professor of child and adolescent psychiatry, Nimhans The session was really insightful, especially because we don’t openly talk about these issues. It was enlightening to hear Dr Eesha discuss things we deal with in daily life. It has definitely made me reflect on my digital habits and realise that they are manageable with the right approach– Divyamsika P, student, PGDMHaving a psychiatrist at the session made it much more engaging for me, especially since I’m interested in psychological aspects. Hearing her perspective on real-world issues was really valuable, and it genuinely helped me de-stress — many of my questions were answered through her insights– Aditya Dam, student, PGDM
