Ashwin's parents, both employed in the IT industry in Kolkata, agree.

"We do need to monitor our usage, especially in presence of Ashwin," M. Bhargav (names changed) told IANS.

While for pre-teens like Ashwin, the attractions are mainly video games and gaming apps, for teens, social networking and internet activity (on smartphones or computers) are the top draw, said Manoj Kumar Sharma, associate professor at the Department of Clinical Psychology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore.

Sharma said the institute's SHUT clinic (Service for Healthy Use of Technology) receives three to four mails per week from other states of India - from parents of teenagers - enquiring about the service as well as possibility of online help or telephone counselling.

"We get users of video gaming, mobile texting, social networking sites and pornography in the age group of 14-19 years, belonging to mid-to-upper socio-economic class.

"They are predominantly male and indulge in online activities on their smartphone or at home computers or cyber cafes and have low to zero knowledge of cyber laws," Sharma told IANS.

Counselling was sought by parents in the wake of declining academic grades, behavioural changes in the form of irritability or angry outbursts when restricted in usage of technology by adults, said Sharma.

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