Srinagar, Dec 1 (Only Kashmir) : The Inner Call, Forum for Evolution, Development & Awareness in collaboration with Dept. of Psychology, Govt. College for Women, MA Road, Saturday conducted one-day awareness workshop on the topic, ‘Modern Technology and Mental Wellness’.
Students from various departments of the college participated in the awareness workshop. Doctors from the Institute of Mental Health, GMC Srinagar, organized group exercises for students and also held counseling sessions with students.
Addressing to the students at the workshop, Deputy Mayor Shiekh Mohammad Imran shared real-life experiences. He advised the students to not get addicted to social media. He shared his concern with the students that such addiction could detract their focus and adversely impact them academically.
Prof Fayaz Ahmad Nikka, Registrar, Central University of Kashmir, flagged various areas of concern regarding modern technology, and how it can affect Mental Health. He stressed that students must self-monitor themselves while they are online. He urged the students not to be heavily dependent on modern technology.
Principal GCW Prof Shaheen Altaf said that these days, students are commonly facing problems like social media addiction. She appreciated the efforts of The Inner Call. She laid stress on conducting more and more such workshops focusing on mental wellness. Prof Shaheen Altaf said that such activities make students aware of how modern technology and the use of social media platforms can be addictive. She appreciated that the workshop informed the students about the support systems available to deal with such addiction.
Affan Yesvi, Secretary The Inner Call, said that modern times are increasingly marked by nuclear families, where youth lack the support system provided by the grandparents and the larger family network. He said that the isolation faced by the youth made them seek interaction on social media platforms. But if social media interaction was excessive, it was cause for concern, said Mr Yesvi.
Yesvi further said it had been observed that when these youth did not have access to social media platforms, they showed symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Prof Sabia Durani, HOD Psychology, said that modern technology has impacted the mental health of ayounger generation. She advised the youngsters to strike a balance between real life and virtual life.
Dr Mudassir Aziz, Coordinator of the De Addiction Centre at Anantnag, spoke of various kinds of mental illnesses. She expressed concern that one can see issues of anxiety and stress related to modern technology like Facebook or social media platforms. The speakers observed youth were getting stressed or upset if they were not able to access the social media platforms.
Mr. Owais Nanda, spoke about the various trends in younger generation about mental welness and Modern Technology
The team of doctors from GMC advised students and participants about various ways to identify addiction to modern technology and social media platforms.
This workshop was part of the regular initiative by The Inner Call, for taking up awareness of mental wellness among the youth.
