India, Aug. 3 -- It's a slightly old story. A 16-year-old boy was sitting in a police station in Uttar Pradesh. He had been detained for threatening to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief minister Yogi Adityanath, and then Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. The boy, from a rural background, wanted overnight fame and hence resorted to the online stunt. As it involved VIPs, the police zeroed in on him in no time. Later, the court took a lenient view considering his age and granted him bail. But this is no isolated case. There are thousands of such incidents where children or young adults perform such acts, compelled by their online addiction. Online addiction has started affecting children in many adverse ways. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AMRC) has categorised online addiction as a public health emergency. AMRC rates the addiction on a par with smoking. The doctors participating in the survey confirmed that they receive at least one young patient every day who has been suffering mental or physical ailments due to excessive online engagement. The doctors warned that tech companies design their apps in a manner that turns people into addicts. We are well aware of insomnia, irritation, violent outbursts and other problems that online addiction causes. It's no surprise that on June 15, the UK banned all forms of social media for children below 16 years of age. Even the Norwegian government is going to take revolutionary new steps from August 1. Norway was the first country in the world to digitalise even the primary classes. The government of Norway and the country's society are now reversing the initiative. Norwegian education minister Kari Nesa Nordtun says that excessive use of screens in the school is affecting the core cognitive abilities of children. It's adversely impacting their physical and mental health. As a result many children are turning to cyber bullying. The Norwegian government is terming the initiative as "back to basics". The government in Oslo dedicated a budget of millions of krones two years ago to bring back textbooks in classrooms. The results are visible. From August 1, the use of screens for students of class 1 to 4 was completely stopped. A zero-screen law is already in place for children under two years of age. The government has tripled the grant for school libraries. This move will definitely be a milestone in preserving human mind and cognition. China too has restricted screen time for children below eight to 40 minutes in 24 hours. At 10 in the night, 'internet curfew' is imposed which lasts till six in the morning. Beijing has restricted all those services that can make children AI addicts. Even South Korean classrooms became out of bounds for mobile phones last month. The government has also established internet rescue schools. Here minors are kept in the lap of nature without any electronic gadget so they can revert to their natural human self. Similarly, Australia has completely banned social media for children below 16 years of age, with hefty fines for companies found breaking the law. France is planning similar curbs. The head of the EU has urged European nations to make laws that decide the age at which children can access social media and also detox from algorithm-driven addiction. Where does India stand on such an important issue? We have put some curbs under Online Gaming Regulations Act 2025 but we still have a long way to go. The academic world is dealing with another issue - how can a golden mean be achieved in the era of AI? PISA (International Student Assessment Programme) and OECD (Organisation of Economically Developed Nations) studies enlighten us about the issue. They say that the AI tools are indeed a force multiplier for increasing human productivity but people will have to make a distinction between addiction and use. Researchers found that when students with digital addiction restricted use of devices to three out of 24 hours, their results were way better. However, digital addicts whose screen time was not restricted failed maths tests despite access to their digital equipment. Close to 59% of students were found distracted by the laptops and smartphones of the others; 45% of students using smartphones for three to seven hours become fidgety if they lose access to it. The verdict is clear: Smartphones and laptops don't make students sharp. They need to develop discipline and focus. The beautiful balance between the power of AI and human wisdom is the only way to create a meaningful world....