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Decoding the debate over prohibiting mobile phone use for children under 16
Karnataka may ban mobile phone use for kids under 16 amid concerns over addiction, but parents worry about safety and enforcement challenges.
As the Karnataka government weighs a proposal to prohibit mobile phone use for children under 16, the debate unfolding across Bengaluru’s homes and classrooms is less about devices themselves and more about the habits, dependencies and anxieties that have grown around them.
The move responds to mounting concern of parents and teachers about compulsive phone use among adolescents. Yet in a city where school notices circulate on WhatsApp and parents track commutes through ride-hailing apps, the prospect of a blanket ban has left many perturbed.
“It would be difficult to imagine this situation,” said Soumya John, the mother of a 15-year-old. “I am working and I use WhatsApp to communicate with my child and Uber app’s tracking feature to check her location when she is commuting. My child has had a phone since he was 13.”
Another parent, Jyothi Sumit, described the phone as a safety tether. “When I am at work or when my son goes out to play, he has to take his phone with him, otherwise we cannot contact him. It is also more convenient, else I would physically have to go everywhere with him in case of an emergency.”
Privacy and the enforcement challenge
Meanwhile, a deeper question lurks around: How would such a ban be enforced? Pranesh Prakash, co-founder of the Centre for Internet and Society and principal consultant at Anekaanta, a law and policy advisory firm, said age verification without infringing privacy would be fraught.
“It is not technically possible to detect the age of a person without collecting ID related information,” he said. “It is technically possible to piggyback on an existing ID (which captures age) and design a ‘zero-knowledge proof’ system around it so that those who are required to verify age don’t have to collect ID. But the authentication service will necessarily need to collect ID. So even this creates new risks of data breaches, data leaks, and the misuse of personal data.”
Inside the clinic: When use turns to disorder
If the enforcement challenge is formidable, the distress driving the proposal is visible in clinics and classrooms.
The parents of a 14-year-old boy began to notice changes during the shift to online schooling. What started as difficulty concentrating deepened over the past year and a half into a near-total preoccupation with the video game Fortnite. He grew irritable when internet speeds faltered, sometimes smashing his phone or iPad and throwing household items in frustration. He stayed up through the night to play and skipped meals. After a clinical assessment, he was diagnosed with Internet Gaming Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
At the service for healthy use of technology clinic at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma, a professor of clinical psychology who heads the programme, said such cases are no longer rare.
“Psychological distress occurs when devices get taken away, and manifests in the form of aggression. There have been cases where parents have complained that children become violent and break things or scratch people. They also threaten self-harm,” he said.
Children, he added, increasingly retreat into solitary comfort with their phones. “Parents bring their children when they notice changes in lifestyle, such as lack of interest in academics and physical activities, and behavioural problems.”
The clinic now sees roughly 25 cases a week, many involving young adolescents. Addiction in this age group, Dr Sharma said, is most often linked to online gaming and video surfing.
Yet he does not advocate prohibition alone. “Steps should be taken to raise awareness among children, that help build up internal reasons within them where they are able to acknowledge the benefits of such a ban. Steps must also be taken to strengthen the parent support system by forming parent support groups, and training should be delivered to at least one teacher in every school regarding digital detox, and they will also be able to counsel and help the children cope.”
He pointed to a universal group intervention program run by the clinic with 700 children from age 12. After five sessions, he said, participants showed measurable improvements in knowledge, attitudes and healthier digital habits. “The basic thing which most of the children are facing is that there is nothing else that is pleasurable in their lifestyle, this needs to be fixed.”
Classrooms confront misuse
In schools across Bengaluru, administrators say they are already grappling with misuse. The principal of a branch on Kanakapura Road described students secretly bringing phones to campus to film risky social media stunts, including the “blackout challenge”, and instances of cyberbullying, particularly during bus rides.
“Students are misusing more than using, often with parental permission,” she said. “The misuse is therefore outweighing any genuine need for mobiles.”
She also cited chronic sleep deprivation among pupils who watch non-age-appropriate content at night. “They know that they cannot watch all these things in the daytime because there are people walking around, so they will start seeing at night, leading to late night sleeps.”
Indira Shrikumar, a retired coordinator at another branch of the same school, said the surge in phone dependence accelerated after the Covid-19 pandemic. “Children can use mobiles even if they implement a ban, it is up to the parents to monitor it,” she said.
A tool for learning and self-expression
For some students, however, the device is a portal rather than a trap. Anish Kumar, 12, uses his phone to clarify lessons and complete homework. “My parents cannot afford to give me a laptop, so I don’t want mobiles to be banned for me,” he said.
Lavanya Shah, 14, credits social media with nurturing her art. “I like having social media because I post my art content and get many likes, this motivates me to paint more. If they ban mobile phones and social media I will be very disconnected from things that I like. I also follow channels that keep me up to date with news because I like to participate in debate competitions.”
Dr Tristha Ramamurthy, founder of Ekya Schools and vice president of the CMR Group of Institutions, said the tension reflects a broader truth about technology’s dual nature.
“We have seen both the distraction and the brilliance. Unguided usage can erode attention spans that are real. But we have also witnessed students use their devices to produce powerful documentaries, code prototypes, run social impact campaigns and pursue independent research far beyond the textbooks,” she said. “The difference lies in intentional scaffolding. When children are taught digital citizenship and self-regulation, technology amplifies potential. Without guidance, it fragments focus. The responsibility, therefore, is adult leadership not the device itself.”
Dr Sharma echoed that view, noting that many children complain their parents are absorbed in their own screens. To make any restriction effective, he said, families must model digital discipline. The clinic is even considering outreach through gynaecologists to advise young mothers on technology exposure from infancy, including resource kits on early digital use.
