A doctor in Pune has received two cases of personality disorder wherein two young boys have shown a maladaptive pattern of behaviour for buying ‘the latest version of an iPhone’.
A craze for buying the latest version of a smartphone is one of the telling traits of a personality disorder; that is seen in modern times by psychologists.
Personality disorder is a maladaptive pattern of behaviour of a specific kind, causing long term difficulties in personal relationships or functioning in society.
While newer smartphones with latest features and innovative additions being introduced every day in the Indian market, the craze for buying the most latest one is leading youngsters to fall prey to having a case of personality disorder.
“This week I got two independent cases of personality disorder associated with craze of buying latest iPhone. The parents of a 19-year-old boy and a 24-year-old boy came to me to seek help as their kids started behaving absurdly over their parents’ denial for buying the latest model of an iPhone. Both the boys already have a smartphone, but are now behaving abnormally as they just want the latest version,” said Dr Rohan Jahagirdar, a consultant psychiatrist from Pune.
He added, “The 19 year old boy is a school dropout while the 24-year-old is an engineer, but employed. The unemployed youngster has a history of substance abuse in the past and he is completely dependent on his family for finances.”
He further explained, “In such cases when you do not have anything good to show about your life to the world, you depend on material things for showing off. This is the exact case that has happened with these boys.”
While talking about what kind of absurd things these kids did to seek attention for their demand, he said, “They will keep on repeating their demand and will threaten parents by not eating anything or by not talking with parents etc. I have started treating them with anti-psychosis drugs.”
Meanwhile, Dr Gayatri Saraf, a psychiatrist at Sassoon hospital, Pune, said, “There are a number of cases of addiction related with technology that is coming up in recent times. Kids are not mature enough to handle technology and at the same time they are not able to resist their demand to access the latest technology. In some cases, these kinds of technological disorders then become a personality disorder.”