Children multi-task with Facebook and gadgets

New Delhi: Nikita Mathur types an e-mail, updates her profile status on social networking site Facebook, wades through her study notes and manages to have a phone conversation as well.

"I usually spend three to four hours on the internet daily. Facebook can't be missed even a single day. But I do other things also while I am online — say homework or talking to my parents. I think I save time by indulging in multiple activities," said the 13-year-old Class 8 student of Ryan International School, Delhi.

For a growing number of teenagers in urban India, being active in the virtual world has become a daily, sometimes hourly, need — even if it is at the cost of their studies. Besides the internet, there are other distractions too like the Blackberry messenger service.

Strange as it may sound, the youngsters call it "multi-tasking".

"In the virtual world, you cannot afford to be a step behind. I want to be a perfect netizen while I'm online, managing four different activities," said Vineet Sharma, 18, a Delhi University student.

Hours spent surfing

There are nearly 52 million internet users in India, according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India. And many of these are schoolgoers who spend much of their off-school hours surfing.

A study conducted by Britain-based psychologists found the exam results of students using Facebook while working on other tasks were 20 per cent lower than non-users. The study surveyed 219 students aged between 19 and 54 at an American university.

The study has unleashed fresh worries over Facebook, which has nearly eight million users in India. Parents, especially, are cautious.

Shambhavi Sharma, mother of 16-year-old Anvesh, said: "My son has his eyes set on the laptop the moment he returns from school. I always hear him discussing gadgets and mobile phones with friends."

A Facebook group, ‘No Exams', has over 100,000 members.

Then there are groups such as ‘Whoever created school exams should be hanged', which has over 950 members. Both groups have many Indian members.

Of the 635 million mobile phone subscribers in India, more than 16 million access internet on their phones, claims Facebook.

"I try to ensure that my daughter does not stay on the computer for more than two hours a day. But I can't do much as most assignments given by her school require the help of the internet. She has Facebook on the phone also," said Rekha Kaul, mother of Arshiya, 13.

Do you think there has been an increase in the amount of time teenagers spend on the web? Is there cause for concern? What can be done to regulate the amount of time spent online?