Concerns have been raised over increased addiction to electronic gadgets in the country with technological experts, clerics and parents now blaming the new-day threat to genetics, psychological factors, environmental influences, peer pressure, and instant gratification.

With drastic changes in technology that has resulted in easy access to smartphones, televisions, tablets, PlayStations, experts are now warning that the peril could trigger formation of a zombified generation that has no grasp of innovation.

The concerned argue that the new craze is not only affecting teenagers who immerse themselves in screens but also their parents who spend most of the time on phone while at work and in the evening, a situation that has been cited as having eroded proper parenting.

Led by Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches of Kenya General Secretary Bishop David Thagana, Joseph Muriithi who is an IT expert and parents, the stakeholders warned that the menace poses a huge rise to the society’s social and moral fabric.

Uncontrolled addiction to tech devices, Thagana stated is a ticking time-bomb that is affecting almost everyone in the society and advocated for extension of rehabilitative remedies to those affected by excessive use of gadgets as is done to those fighting drugs and alcoholism.

Speaking at Mugutha village in Juja, Kiambu County during the opening of Ambassadors Wellness Centre, a rehabilitative centre aimed at assisting addicts recover from all forms of addiction, Thagana further regretted that the latest form of addiction is slowly causing disintegration of families noting that social set-ups from the family level are being disrupted by the hazard.

“Everyone in the families have access to a mobile device and internet which has crippled socialization. Many are the times you find everyone in a family set up glued to television, others using phones as others watch movies on laptops. Most hardly have time to talk like it used to happen in the former years,” said Thagana.

“This form of addiction has exposed children and the youth to a myriad of ills in the tech space including vices such as pornography, cyber-crime among others. It is time for moderation and for parents to speak to their children against this challenge,” he advised.