 | | Today's teens, called the M-Generation, are the first wave of a wired generation for whom multi-tasking with media is an integral part of life. | | Shalini Sinha is a cute, chirpy 17-year-old who exudes today's teen spirit: aware, confident, outgoing and intelligent. The kind of girl who should, logically, have a swarm of boyfriends chatting her up at the neighbourhood Barista, except she doesn't have the time. She spends an average of eight hours a day in her room engaging with the tools of her generation. Her TV and laptop are never off, except when she drops off to sleep around 2 a.m. Even while watching TV and surfing the Net, her iPod is playing through her bedside speakers. The only time she mutes it is when she's talking on her Motorola Razr or to listening to a TV dialogue. In between, she's playing computer games on her Playstation. And the boyfriends? Well, they do chat her up, but in cyberspace. Shalini is a typical example of what is being called the M-Generation, media-obsessed, tech-savvy teenagers who are the current focus of global attention and research because of the number of hours they spend media multi-tasking, a majority between four and eight hours a day. If parents are wondering how their teenage kids are able to do homework while talking on the phone, SMS-ing, surfing the Net, listening to music and watching TV-all at the same time-they have lots of company. Parents across the globe, including in India, are asking the same question: how to handle a generation that is not just media-savvy but media saturated. A recent study of 10-18-year-olds by the Kaiser Foundation in the US portrays Generation-M as increasingly wired to media. Four hours a day are spent with television and the Net and over three hours listening to music, playing video games or using their cellphones. | WHAT PARENTS CAN DO
According to studies by sleep researchers across the world, sleep deprivation is detrimental to health. | | | | |
That pretty much describes India's M-Generation. The media has literally become their message, and rite of passage. With prices of entry-level PCs and laptops having plummeted, a large slice of India's 180-200 million middle-class homes now owns computers. For teenagers, being without a cellphone is like being minus a limb and iPods, now easily affordable, are fast going the same way, as a fashion statement of youth rather than a music device. More than affordability and fashion, technology and her the M-Generation are literally wired together. They represent those who will come of age in the first decade of this century and also the first wave of a technologically switched-on, affluent generation of young people. They are avid consumers and are heavily influenced by the technological freedom that mobile phones and the Internet allow them. Those between the ages of 12 and 21 are the first generation to feel that technology is an integral part of their lives and not just a nice thing to own. A recent KSA Technopak consumer survey labelled this generation as Technology Babies, those born between 1985 and 1996, and numbering close to 32 million. They were characterised as tech-savvy, gadget-crazy and Internet-friendly.
| AKASH BHARATAN,18, STUDENT
Spends almost eight hours a day on his computer, iPod, mobile phone, karaoke system and TV. Plays computer games for five hours every day and for another two hours does net surfing, chatting or downloading music and films. Tries to devote enough time to studies but admits that he could do more.
Most of India's 200 million middle class homes now have computers. | | |  | | PARENT
My son is always on the computer but since he does well in school, I allow it.
SHEETAL SHAH, HOUSEWIFE, AHMEDABAD SURVEY
Media multi-tasking is a growing phenomenon and we don't know whether it's good, bad or both.
DREW ALTMAN, PRESIDENT, KAISER FOUNDATION
70% of parents surveyed said their children influenced which brand was chosen while buying items like computers. | | Today's switched-on teens stoutly defend multi-tasking and brag about listening to the iPod, messaging, watching TV and surfing the Net all at the same time. Perhaps young minds can handle all the stimuli simultaneously. But whether they can store what is important and ignore what is not is the moot question. There are, in fact, studies underway looking at some negative possibilities. Does multi-tasking with media meet the emotional needs of impressionable teenagers or does it foster avoidance of emotional maturity, creating a person who is obsessed with control? Media baron Rupert Murdoch recently said: "My two daughters will be digital natives. They want control over their media rather than being controlled by it."
He was expressing a concern that will sound familiar to most Indian parents who are trapped between encouraging their kids to embrace technology but are worried by the amount of time they are spending on it. As Drew Altman, President of the Kaiser Foundation who commissioned the recent survey on multi-tasking says: "Kids are consuming many different kinds of media all at once. Multi-tasking is a growing phenomenon in media use and we don't know whether it's good or bad or both." A typical day in the life of 17-year-old Hasmit Trivedi begins with him switching on his music system and then logging on to his computer to check the e-mail. A student of Mumbai's H.R. College of Commerce, he spends hours surfing the Internet, downloading songs and playing computer games for five hours every day. The rest of his time is divided between his iPod, TV and his mobile phone, apart from a few hours in the college (2 p.m. to 6 p.m.). "I am heavily dependent on these gadgets. If they are not there I feel irritated," says Trivedi. He can't imagine his world without any of his gadgets. As he says: "Everything has its pros and cons, but these things have more pros as they ensure connectivity." However, his mother, Dipti Jayen Trivedi, worries that too much dependence on these technological trappings can cause health problems. "All these can result in weak physical constitution," she says, adding: "This makes them introverts." Dr Harish Shetty, social psychiatrist and president of the Counsellor's Association of India, agrees that such dependence on electronic items disconnects the M-Generation from peers and family. "While most are able to strike a balance between studies and time spent with electronic gadgets, some can't express themselves without them," he says. | UDYAN SAXENA, 12, STUDENT
Udyan is hooked on to car race computer gaming and spends hours in front of the screen. His architect father worries that cyberworld may be taking his son away from the real one, while his mother, Ritu, feels that spending so many hours in front of the TV screen will hamper her son's growth as a social being.
A majority of children think being connected is important. | | |  | | STUDENT
I am heavily dependent on these gadgets. If they are not there I feel irritated.
HASMIT TRIVEDI, 17, MUMBAI PARENT
Watching TV for long hours can make children introverts as they don't prefer to get face to face with people.
DIPTI JAYEN TRIVEDI, MUMBAI
64% in Bangalore surf the Internet daily as compared to the national average of 40 per cent. | | But both Trivedi and his mother agree that there are advantages. If a computer with an Internet connection is instrumental in downloading tutorials and doing research work, listening to music is a good stress buster. Priti Shah, a teacher at the suburban National College, feels that these youngsters should be given some credit: "They are smart and responsible. These technology items are conducive to their development." Shah feels that students should be taught to manage time and discipline themselves and should use these gadgets with discretion. "Their use should not be restricted for entertainment but education as well," she adds. Dr Shetty, however, cautions: "It is a problem when these gadgets become their lives instead of being a part of their lives."
That is a distinction which may not be easy to decipher. A survey commissioned by Cartoon Network in April 2006 across 14 Indian cities and 8,927 respondents comprising 4,043 children between four and 19 years and their parents, found that 40 per cent were computer literate or computer users. Sixty-three per cent of the children in Bangalore use computers while 64 per cent surf the Net at cyber cafes on a daily basis compared to the national average of 40 per cent. A majority rely on the Internet for information, homework help and career guidance. Seventy per cent of parents said their child influenced which brand was chosen while buying computers and 67 per cent while buying mobile phones. Speaking to psychologists, parents, teachers and representatives of the M-Generation, makes it clear that there is an animated and healthy debate on whether the dependence on technology is positive or negative. Kolkata psychiatrist Dr Aniruddha Deb, believes that the M-Generation is much more focused and has more options in life. "They know what they want to be. In previous generations, the height of achievement was to be an engineer or a doctor." Kaustabh Roy, 17, is a typical example of how technology can have a positive effect. A student of Kolkata's La Martiniere, he thinks of the Internet as a necessity, not an indulgence. His mother Namrata Roy, feels it is important that she can reach him at all times, so his cellphone is also a necessity. He uses the Internet for about four hours every evening. "But I always make it a point not to cut in on my study time. If I chat at night, I study in the morning," he says. But despite his cyber socialising, Kaustabh is good at studies and is a school prefect. He wants a management degree and is busy checking out foreign university websites. In contrast is his elder brother Gaurav who grew up without his own cellphone and the Internet, had fewer friends and was a lot more aggressive. "Gaurav was always on the edge, always worried about his career. Kaustabh is cool. He studies, and does well in school" says Namrata.
| AMARTYA MAJUMDER,13, STUDENT
Watches TV for three to four hours a day and uses the Internet for another two hours. Due to the discipline imposed by his parents, he has to lessen the amount of time he would have otherwise liked to spend on the net. His parents find his excessive use of TV/Internet unhealthy and worry about his future.
Today's digital natives want control over their media. | | |  | | TEACHER
They are smart and responsible. These gadgets are conducive to their development.
PRITI SHAH, NATIONAL COLLEGE, MUMBAI STUDENT
I play Counter Strike for five hours a day and always carry my iPod with me. I could have spent more time studying.
AKASH BHARATAN, 18, AHMEDABAD
32 million children born between 1985 and 1996 were labelled as Technology Babies in a recent consumer survey. | | However, there's a divergent view from people like Lakshmipriya Kannan, clinical psychologist and counsellor, who feels that spending long hours on games and computers affects the soft skills of children in the long run. The teenage years are the period when children learn to interact with others, develop interpersonal relationships and a sense of identity. "Being glued to gadgets reduces human interface and leads to lopsided development of the child. They lose their ability to interact and empathise with others, are less sensitive to people around them and can face an identity crisis when they grow up" she says. At times, this leads to problems in their family lives as well when parents complain that their children do not spend enough time with them and are becoming materialistic because all they think of is gadgets. Lack of parental supervision also brings up the one issue that parents fear the most: kids locked away in their rooms and having instant access to pornography on the Net. As Sumita Mazundar says: "My youngest son (four year old) fancies cars. He was checking out a site, but suddenly adult sites started popping up. I was quite traumatised." The other negative, according to Mumbai schoolteacher Meena Saldhana, is that often kids use gadgets to show off and it becomes a game of one-upmanship, or teenageship in this case. "They feel that life is incomplete without these gadgets. In some cases, it even leads to competition among children who bring them to school to compare what they have. The problem arises, Saldhana feels, when these children are not monitored at home "because that is where they spend all their free time on computers, games and television instead of studies. The feeling that life is incomplete without gadgets can hamper the growth of a child in the long run. With children getting hooked to indoor games, they spend less time on outdoor activities."
| HASMIT TRIVEDI, 12, STUDENT
Trivedi spends five hours a day surfing the Internet, downloading songs and playing computer games. The rest of his waking hours are divided between his iPod, TV and his mobile phone apart from a few hours at the college (2 p.m. to 6 p.m.). He confesses that his parents complain about the time he spends with his gadgets.
The affluent M-Generation is technologically switched-on. | | |  | | PSYCHIATRIST
I feel that too much TV, Internet, gadgets will just take them away from the simple joys of life.
SUMITA MAZUMDAR, HOUSEWIFE, INDORE STUDENT
Depending too much on technology has its downside. You can use it well or you can be consumed by it.
CHAITANYA DALAVO, 18, MANAGEMENT STUDENT
30 hours is the average time an Indian teenager spends in front of the TV per week compared to 25 hours in school. | | Like Indore's Udyan Saxena. In the world of virtual reality, this 12-year-old boy manoeuvres his Ferrari F1 car with remarkable dexterity. But his architect father fears the irresistible pull of the cyber world might be taking him away from the real one. A student of class VII, Udyan watches TV for three to four hours and uses the Internet for another four hours a day, mostly playing computer games. Udyan's mother Ritu Saxena, a housewife, thinks that excessive TV-watching and computer gaming is not healthy for children of Udyan's age, and they should be spending more time with their friends and family. "If they use computers and TV within certain limits then it is not detrimental for their health. But spending long hours in front of a TV and computers hampers their growth as social individuals," she fears. A survey conducted by the Indian Academy of Paediatrics found an average Indian child spends more hours in front of TV in a week than in school-an average of 30 hours in front of the TV per week as compared to 25 hours a week in school. Akash Bharatan, 18, a student in Ahmedabad, spends almost eight hours a day on the gadgets he has which include a computer, an iPod, a mobile phone, a karaoke system and a television in his room. "I play Counter Strike on the computer with almost 20 friends for five hours every day. Our computers are connected through LAN so we can play together. I spend another two hours on the internet surfing, chatting or downloading music and films. I am always connected to my friends even though we might not meet each other everyday. I carry my iPod with me whenever I step out of the house." Akash says that the time he spends with his gadgets does not affect his relationships with friends or his studies. "In the evenings, I try and meet other friends who are not online. At times, my mother feels that I don't spend enough time with her but I do admit that I could have spent more time on my studies." | KAUSTABH ROY, 17, STUDENT
Roy's life is ruled by TV, iPod, stereo, Internet and his mobile phone. His father lives in Korea, and brother in Germany, so a webcam and e-mail forms an integral part of his life. His mother is upset by his tendency to listen to his iPod while he studies while Roy says it helps him concentrate better.
For kids, being without a cell phone is like missing a limb. | | |  | | PSYCHIATRIST
Multi-tasking makes them better at problem-solving.
DR ANIRUDDHA DEB, KOLKATA STUDENT
I always make it a point to balance time spent on studies and on my gadgets. If I chat at night, I study in the mornings.
KAUSTABH ROY, 17, KOLKATA
40 % of 4,043 children polled in urban India were computer literate. | | What most parents are confused about is that gadgets are considered "cool" and depriving them of the latest tools puts them at a social disadvantage. It's an issue that worries Sheetal Shah of Ahmedabad when it comes to her 10-year-old son Romil. "These days most children are very technology and gadget-friendly. I don't want Romil to feel that we are not giving him what his friends have." Parents, however, are slowly learning that giving their kids the latest gadgets is unavoidable but the key lies in finding the balance between education and play. Dr Aniruddha Deb counsels M-Generation parents and also has one of his own, Ashim, 13, a student at St Xavier's School. As Dr Deb says: "We are seeing the rise of a generation that is replacing traditional activities with a whole new set. They are more exposed to the world through their media channels. And when an exposure becomes collective, you get a smarter generation. They develop skills that make them better-equipped to respond to sudden stimuli. Also, if you are continuously multi-tasking, you'll be better at problem-solving." Deb, however, admits that some tech-obsessed teens have a serious problem with attention span. That, of course, does not take into account the fact that M-Generation's access to technology and media is only set to grow. Delhi management student Chaitanya Dalavoi, 19, admits that she could be on her mobile at least 10 hours a day and sees the downside: "Depending too much on technology also has its negative side. You can use it well or you can be consumed by it." Technology is an expensive obsession but for millions of Indian kids wired to new media for most of their waking hours, the question is whether it is worth it. Like any technology, there are benefits and there are disadvantages, all depending on the user. For kids who spend too much time surfing TV, downloading music and movies, or gossiping with friends on their cellphones, there is little time for studies, face to face interaction with friends and family, or spending time outdoors. In terms of developing social and interpersonal skills, the M-Generation often comes up short. "Generally, media-obsessed kids who spend too much time locked way in their rooms with their technological toys become introverts, argumentative, opinionated and incapable of facing the real world and real careers as opposed to the one in cyberspace. Their gadgets are like a security blanket which is fine when you are 16 but leaves you at a disadvantage when you are entering an increasingly-competitive job market," says Shalini Roy, psychologist and child counsellor. | ASHIM DEB, 13, STUDENT
Ashim spends an average of six hours on the internet but is encouraged by his father, a psychiatrist, who feels that his son's generation are replacing traditional activities with a whole new set, are more exposed to the world through their media channels and are better equipped to shift from one task to another.
Parents now know that giving gadgets to kids is unavoidable. | | |  | | COUNSELLOR
Gadgets reduce human interface, leading to skewed development of the child.
LAKSHMIPRIYA KANNAN, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST TEACHER
Children get hooked to computer games and spend less time on outdoor activities, which can be harmful.
MEENA SALDHANA, SCHOOL TEACHER, MUMBAI
67% of parents surveyed in 14 cities said that their children influenced their decision on what mobile phone to buy.
| | Moreover, research has shown that multi-tasking is handicapped by how much data the human brain can process. Other research has shown that in the initial stages of acquiring "cool" gadgets and usage of multiple media, teens are stimulated into performing at a higher level, mentally and physically, than normal. After a while, however, this tapers off and starts taking a toll on body and mind. Multi-tasking overkill can, in the long run, affect the ability to maintain concentration and focus. Most importantly, an obsession with gadgets means that teens are depriving themselves of other means of mental stimulation, like books, cultural education, the performing arts, or ordinary human interaction. Parents have a key role to play in determining how media and technology can be used by their kids in a positive way. There is, of course, the other view which is that because they are exposed to a wider world through multiple media, today's teens are collectively smarter, confident, aware, more tuned to global trends and possess multiple skills and personality facets. Ultimately, it's really a question of using technology for education and awareness rather than pure entertainment. As master of multiple mediums, you can conquer an increasingly wired world. As slave to the same technology, you can crash and burn. India's M-Generation has a huge opportunity that is equally a serious threat. Right now, they may be too engrossed in their dazzling electronic world to worry about consequences, but Indian parents have never faced a bigger challenge in bringing up their kids. Do they encourage them to get tech-savvy and avoid peer pressure and social embarrassment by showering them with the latest gadgets? Or do they control their electronic environment and risk alienation, family tension and hostility? In today's digital world, these are questions that are gaining critical importance for educationists, social scientists, and, above all, parents who are trying to come to grips with the electronic dynamics forging Generation-M and how to channel those multi channels in the right direction. -with Damayanti Datta and bureau reports Index
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Do not stop teenagers from having access to gadgets, especially computers. Refusal to give them the tools of their generation can cause alienation and hostility. Computers are a powerful learning tool. 
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