2,309 children given clinical help as digital addiction takes heavy toll in Kerala

KOCHI: In November, the parents of a Class VIII student in Ernakulam found that their 12-year-old son had transferred nearly `1 lakh from his mother’s bank account to a classmate to buy a newly launched mobile phone. Though the money was recovered through the intervention of parents and teachers, the boy became socially withdrawn and began displaying anti-social behaviour, prompting the family to seek help from a clinical psychologist.

In another incident last month, a 16-year-old girl from Chottanikkara was found dead in a quarry, leaving behind a note suggesting distress over the alleged suicide of a Korean friend she had met on Instagram.