Putting the smartphone in its place

A mathematics teacher turned counsellor, Brother George Palackal, is on a mission to promote digital well-being across classrooms and homes

Take this quiz (see box) to find out how addicted you are to your smartphone. Published in the inaugural edition of e-magazine Digital Wellbeing brought out by Chennai-based Montfort Counselling and Educational Services (MCES), the 15-page magazine helps gadget users free themselves of this addiction. These pages help them identify symptoms of this addiction and cut down on screen time.

As one does not have to “advertise” their score, participants need to be honest to themselves and act on what their score may suggest.

A score between 1 and 20 points signals minimal usage; one between 21 and 35 points show moderate usage. A score between 36 to 50 means excessive usage; and a score between 51 and 60 shows one’s life is being ruled by the smartphone — and these users are called “problematic users”.

“Problematic users must take serious steps to reduce usage and explore offline activities,” says Brother George Palackal, editor of the tri-annual magazine and director of MCES, staying at the organisation’s Pallavaram facility.

The magazine is an extension of the work this former Mathematics teacher, principal and counsellor has been carrying out for close to a decade on digital addiction among adolescents.

Brother George, who belongs to the congregation of Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel (present in 33 countries), pursued counselling as a second career after retiring from a school in Fiji Island.

In 2010, Brother George enrolled for a PhD programme in counselling psychology.