State releases draft policy to curb students’ screen time

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like The state government on Wednesday released a draft policy to address digital usage among students through a primarily school-based framework that prioritises mental health and cyber safety. Dinesh Gundu Rao (HT PHOTO)The policy was prepared by the state department of health and family welfare, in collaboration with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), said officials. “With nearly one in four adolescents showing signs of problematic internet use, the policy recognises the rising burden of mental health issues such as anxiety, sleep disturbances, poor academic performance, and social isolation linked to excessive screen time,” the document states. State health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the ill-effects of mobile phone usage were evident in both education and social life, pointing to concerns such as anxiety, cyber-bullying, sleeplessness and reduced interpersonal interaction. “You also must be noticing family members converse less with each other due to mobile phones. They are disturbing our social structure. We have learnt its usage and not the negative effect it has on people, including digital addiction and its effect on our mind,” he said. The draft policy proposes integrating digital literacy, mental health awareness and cyber safety into school education. It assigns roles to schools, teachers, parents, students and government systems. Key measures include issuing state-level guidelines, training teachers on healthy technology use and strengthening communication between schools and parents. Digital wellness is to be incorporated into life skills and ICT curricula, covering social media literacy, ethical use of technology and cyber safety. Schools would be required to frame their own digital use policies, including setting screen-time norms with recreational use capped at one hour per day, addressing cyber misconduct and ensuring access to counselling support. Teachers would be trained to identify early signs of digital distress and refer students to mental health services. Schools would also establish Digital Wellness Committees. The policy calls for regular sensitisation programmes for students, teachers and parents, and promotes offline activities such as physical exercise, hobbies and designated “tech-free” periods. Monitoring systems are proposed to track digital distress and connect students to support services, including Tele-MANAS. The policy proposes training teachers under a “digital detox” framework through the 5C model —Craving, Control, Compulsion, Coping and Consequences —so they may be able to properly intervene in cases of digital distress.. Parents are expected to enforce screen-time rules, create device-free zones at home and model responsible digital behaviour, with schools aiding engagement through guidance sessions. The policy aims to improve digital literacy, reduce technology addiction and related mental health issues, enable early intervention and strengthen coordination between schools and families. The draft follows a proposal announced in the state budget to restrict access to social media for younger users. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, while presenting the 2026–27 budget in the Karnataka legislature, said the government planned to prohibit children under 16 from using social media platforms. “With the objective of preventing adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children, usage of social media will be banned for children under the age of 16,” he said. If implemented, Karnataka would be the first state in India to impose such a restriction. Similar measures have been considered internationally, including legislation passed in Australia in December requiring social media companies to prevent users under 16 from maintaining accounts. The issue has also been discussed within the government. During a recent meeting with vice chancellors of state-run universities, Siddaramaiah sought views on restricting mobile phone use among children under 16. Arun Dev is an Assistant Editor with the Karnataka bureau of Hindustan Times. A journalist for over 10 years, he has written extensively on crime and politics.