Before meeting Bobby's parents, Sekhar took us to a rehabilitation center. This rehabilitation
center is different from those where therapies or treatments were provided for de-addiction from
drugs, alcohol, etc.
This rehabilitation center is for NEAR patients or those who are addicted to gadgets, Internet
and social networking platforms.We went inside. In the first ward, there were
four to five kids, maybe between eight to ten years. One kid was looking at me without any
expression. I smiled at him. He continued looking at me blankly.
I went near him, "Hi, I am Jai. How are you?"
He looked downwards, his thumb and fingers were moving while his pupils moved from left
to right.
"He is addicted to chatting, his pupils and finger movements indicate the same. Your 'Hi,
hello' reaches his mind as a text message.The only response his brain knows is to text
back and say 'Hi'. His parents always left him alone with a smartphone since he was three
years old. They wanted to tame his temper and mischief. They thought they were engaging him,
but they didn't know that they were impacting his health negatively. His motor abilities are
now limited." Sekhar explained. We moved on to the next ward. I saw a person
sitting on a wheel chair with two people who were trying to make him look around.
One trainer was giving him instructions. "Please look here, I am your friend. We need to talk and
plan for the next event."The patient was trying to turn around and
move his neck to the left but failing at it.
A woman beside him touched his forehead and
started crying. Her tears fell on his wrists and
his hands, but he did not react. We learnt that the woman crying was his wife.
The attendant who was taking care of that patient told us that he was in a LOSA (Lack of
Social Acceptance) shock. His social network friends had stopped showing interest in what he
shared on social media. He was shocked to see the sudden change. He was addicted to social
media and posted everything personal and private on social network.He has put himself in a situation where he could not eat, drink or even pass out body waste until he saw acceptance for what he had posted on
the social network. This was similar to being addicted to smoking or drinking. Where addicts
cannot answer to the call of nature until they have a cigarette or a drink.
We moved on to the next ward.
Sekhar pointed to a teenage boy and mentioned that he was undergoing extreme medication and therapy for
NEAR syndrome. I went near him. His eyes were expressionless
and surrounded by dark circles. The skin tone of his body did not match with his face. His
face is dry and lifeless. I touched his hands.They felt as though they were sticks. His back
was completely bent, he was not able to stand or sit straight.
For a moment, I felt this person is handicapped,but actually he is "artificially handicapped".
Overdependence on technology had made him turn lifeless.
The attendant for that person told us that he was undergoing extreme medication, and may
be declared brain dead in a few days.