Teen preparing for police recruitment exam commits suicide after mother refused to buy him phone
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Teen preparing for police recruitment exam commits suicide after mother refused to buy him phone")
Representative image. Photograph: (Pexels)
According to a new study, teenagers starting from nine years show signs of being addicted to social media, mobile phones or video games and are at greater risk of suicidal behaviour and emotional problems.
Mobile addiction amongst teens is increasing significantly. In a shocking incident, a 16-year-old boy jumped to his death from a hill in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Sunday after his mother refused to buy him a mobile phone.
The boy, identified as Atharva Gopal Tayde, was asking his mother to buy him a phone for days. However, she refused every time.
On Sunday, he asked his mother to buy him a phone, and she refused again. Post that, he went to a hill in Tisgaon and jumped.
He was declared dead after locals rushed him to the nearby hospital.
According to officials, he was preparing for the police recruitment exam.
This is not an isolated incident. The state has reported similar incidents in the past where teens have committed suicide due to mobile addiction.
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In April 2025, a 16-year-old boy committed suicide because his parents took away his mobile phone to prevent him from playing games.
In another instance, a 15-year-old boy died by suicide after his mother refused to get him a mobile phone on his birthday.
In July 2024, an 18-year-old boy died by suicide in Navi Mumbai after his father did not buy him an iPhone and gave Vivo instead. In depression, he committed suicide.
According to a new study, teenagers starting from nine years show signs of being addicted to social media, mobile phones or video games and are at greater risk of suicidal behaviour and emotional problems.
The study, published June 18 in JAMA, was led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, Columbia University and University of California, Berkeley.
It tracked more than 4,000 adolescents for four years, and found that nearly one in three reported increasingly addictive use of social media or mobile phones. Those whose use followed an increasingly addictive trajectory had roughly double the risk of suicidal behaviour at the end of the study.
The findings do not prove screen use was the cause of mental health problems. But they highlight that compulsive use, which appears to be very common, is a significant risk factor that parents and healthcare services should be alert to.
Get help & support for suicide
If you or someone you know wants help for mental well-being, don't hesitate to talk to a professional. You can contact local authorities and also encourage the person to contact asuicide prevention hotline.WION does not make any recommendations.
