Mobile Phones: Boon or Burden for Kashmir’s Youth

For families, mobile phones have become a lifeline. Parents working outside the valley stay connected with their children. During emergencies, a single call can save a life. In moments of fear, uncertainty, or natural calamities, mobile phones provide reassurance that loved ones are safe. In a place that has seen unrest and uncertainty, communication itself becomes a form of comfort

January 01, 2026 | Danish Ashraf Khan

In today’s world, the mobile phone rests silently in our palms, yet it carries a noise louder than streets, louder than classrooms, louder than even our own thoughts. It is no longer just a device. It has become a companion, a teacher, a guide, a distraction, a healer, and sometimes a silent destroyer. Nowhere is this transformation more visible than in Kashmir, a land of deep emotions, strong traditions, sharp intellect, and wounded hearts.

Once, communication in Kashmir meant handwritten letters carried across villages, long walks to a neighbor’s house, and evenings spent listening to elders narrate stories of wisdom and history. Today, a single tap connects a Kashmiri child to the entire world. The mobile phone has shortened distances, but it has also shortened patience, attention, and sometimes relationships.
There is no denying the usefulness of mobile phones. For students in Kashmir, especially in remote areas where schools are few and resources limited, mobile phones have opened doors that were once firmly shut. Online classes, digital libraries, educational videos, and skill based learning platforms have allowed many young minds to continue learning even during harsh winters, curfews, or difficult times. For a student sitting in a far off village of Tral, Kupwara, or Bandipora, the mobile phone has become a window to knowledge that was once reserved for cities.
Mobile phones have also helped Kashmiri youth showcase their talent. Writers publish their thoughts, photographers share the beauty of valleys, entrepreneurs sell handicrafts, shawls, and local products beyond borders. A small screen has given voice to suppressed creativity. Many young people have found hope, income, and recognition through this device.
For families, mobile phones have become a lifeline. Parents working outside the valley stay connected with their children. During emergencies, a single call can save a life. In moments of fear, uncertainty, or natural calamities, mobile phones provide reassurance that loved ones are safe. In a place that has seen unrest and uncertainty, communication itself becomes a form of comfort.
But every light casts a shadow, and the shadow of mobile phones is growing longer each day.
In Kashmir, where youth already carry emotional burdens, excessive mobile phone use has silently entered homes and minds. Children who once played cricket in orchards now sit indoors scrolling endlessly. Teenagers who once shared laughter with friends now share silence with screens. Families sit together, yet each member is lost in a different digital world.
One of the biggest disadvantages of mobile phones is addiction. Many Kashmiri students wake up with their phones and sleep with them. Their first emotion of the day is notification, not prayer or purpose. Their concentration weakens, their memory suffers, and their interest in books fades. Education becomes mechanical, while entertainment becomes an obsession.
Social media has created unrealistic comparisons. Young minds compare their simple lives with edited images, filtered happiness, and fake success. This has increased frustration, depression, and feelings of failure among Kashmiri youth. Instead of understanding their own potential, many begin to feel inferior without reason.
Mobile phones have also affected moral values. Easy access to inappropriate content has damaged innocence at an early age. Without guidance, young users consume information that confuses rather than educates. Respect for elders, patience in conversation, and depth in relationships are slowly disappearing.
Health problems are another serious concern. Eye strain, headaches, poor sleep, anxiety, and physical inactivity are becoming common even among children. Mental peace is disturbed by constant alerts, messages, and virtual noise. In a land already sensitive to stress, this silent pressure is dangerous.
Yet, blaming the mobile phone alone would be unfair. The real issue is not the device, but how we use it.
A mobile phone is like a sharp knife. In the hands of a surgeon, it saves lives. In careless hands, it causes harm. The responsibility lies with parents, teachers, and most importantly, the users themselves.
Kashmir has always been a land of thinkers, poets, scholars, and resilient souls. Our youth are intelligent, emotional, and capable of greatness. Mobile phones should be tools to strengthen this potential, not chains to bind it.
We must teach our children balance. Phones should support education, not replace books. They should connect hearts, not isolate them. Technology should serve humanity, not control it.
Parents must spend time with children, not just give them phones to keep them busy. Teachers must guide students on meaningful usage. Youth must ask themselves one honest question: Is my phone helping me grow, or is it quietly stealing my time, focus, and peace?
If used wisely, mobile phones can help rebuild Kashmir through education, innovation, and awareness. If misused, they will slowly weaken a generation that the valley cannot afford to lose.
The future of Kashmir does not lie in screens, but in minds that think, hearts that feel, and hands that work. Let the mobile phone be a bridge, not a barrier. Let it be a servant, not a master.
Because a generation that controls technology will rise.
But a generation controlled by technology will fall.