Students Tackle Digital Wellness at Campus Debate

When moderator Rishikesh Bahadur Desai asked students if anyone could voluntarily stay off their phone for 30 minutes outside class, the hesitant glances told the whole story. Screen dependency is real, but these students weren't gathering to complain about it.

The Hindu's Huddle on Campus brought together six medical and engineering students for a refreshingly honest conversation about digital overload. Instead of the usual "phones are bad" lecture, panelists Maktedar Abubakar, Aamera Mariam, Anirudh Kulkarni, Rahman Mujahid, Firdous Sabha, and Premika Vallabhaneni explored something more useful: how to make technology work for us.

Abubakar shared how he used social media to completely transform his fitness routine by learning calisthenics from instructional videos. "If you are mindful of what you are consuming, it will definitely help you," he explained, proving that the same devices causing problems can also solve them.

The panel introduced the concept of "bloomscrolling," the intentional consumption of positive, useful content. Mujahid explained that following specific pages for curated information benefits users, while mindless doomscrolling is a passive trap designed by algorithms to keep us hooked.

Kulkarni brought neuroscience into the discussion, noting that once a notification distracts a student, it takes an average of 23 minutes to fully refocus. He urged students to stop browsing the moment they find what they need, warning that powerful algorithms will trap anyone who doesn't step away intentionally.

Vallabhaneni offered perspective by pointing out that cognitive diversion has existed across generations, from television to today's smartphones. "Doomscrolling is just one among several distractions available today, and for many, it has simply become a convenient mechanism for escaping reality," she observed.

Mariam addressed the elephant in the room: the multi-billion dollar algorithm industry exploits our emotional vulnerabilities. But her message was hopeful. "We cannot simply go back to the pre-social media era. The sustainable solution lies in learning to adapt through comprehensive digital literacy," she said.

Why This Inspires

What made this discussion special wasn't just identifying the problem. The students offered practical solutions: conscious digital detoxes, self-imposed screen time limits, and productivity apps that block distracting interfaces during study sessions. They turned a potential complaint session into a workshop on reclaiming control.

The audience joined in, sharing personal strategies for managing screen time during exam cycles. The two-hour program proved that young people aren't helpless victims of technology but thoughtful users ready to transform their relationship with it from passive consumption into conscious utility.

These students are building digital literacy one intentional scroll at a time.