Families Hire Bouncers to Guard Teenagers Addicted to Phones, Social Media and Gaming in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: In Ahmedabad, parents of a 16-year-old girl have hired four bouncers in two shifts to guard her 24x7, spending about Rs 65,000 a month. The teenager, according to doctors, had become severely addicted to her phone and social media and turned violent whenever her device was taken away. Psychiatrist Dr Mrugesh Vaishnav said the girl was obsessed with a photo-sharing platform, frequently posting pictures and interacting with strangers online. Her parents grew alarmed when she began sneaking out to meet people she befriended on social media. When they tried to confiscate her phone, she reacted with extreme aggression, throwing household appliances such as a television and microwave from their high-rise apartment and attacking her mother. "Along with medication, enforced control became a necessity," Dr Vaishnav said. The girl's mother said the family had been paying for bouncers for the past few months as part of her de-addiction process. Security personnel, typically associated with celebrity protection and crowd control, are now being hired by families dealing with teenagers whose addictions have triggered anger, violence and risky behaviour. In Surat, a family brought in a bouncer after their 17-year-old son began beating the family pet, to vent his anger at his father. Nikhil Pandey, head of bouncers at Force11 Security Company, said eight bouncers were deployed in two shifts for nine months to protect the dog. "The teen was obsessed with gaming. Angered over his father's chiding, he would furiously thrash the dog, which was very dear to his father," Pandey said. Yasin Malik, who runs a security agency in the city, said guarding teenagers struggling with addiction has emerged as a new category of demand. In one recent case, his agency was hired by the family of a real estate developer after their son underwent rehabilitation for chemical drug use. The bouncers were tasked with ensuring the teenager was never left alone long enough to access substances again. "For an eight-hour shift, families pay Rs 1,500 per bouncer per day," Malik said. He added that agencies are now training staff to remain discreet and handle children with care. Mental health experts say such cases reflect a sharp rise in severe behavioural problems linked to addiction, especially after the Covid pandemic. Dr Vaishnav said teenagers who receive smartphones early, often for studies, can become dependent on them for distraction or validation. "We are seeing severe addiction where teens have to be hospitalised for one to four months to overcome screen dependency," he said. "Like drugs and alcohol, this has become a new category of extreme de-addiction cases where conventional methods often do not work." Helpline data also points to the trend. Satish Kadia, coordinator for the Abhayam helpline in Ahmedabad, said calls involving children's screen addiction and violent behaviour have risen sharply since the pandemic. "Most of these cases involve either self-harm or aggression towards parents, peers or family members when phones are taken away," he said. In Vadodara, Ashfaq Kapadia, owner of the Gujarat branch of Tiger Security Guard Services, said his team was hired by a family whose son was addicted to drugs and frequently became abusive and aggressive when denied money. "We deployed the team for some time before the youth assured the family of reasonable behaviour," Kapadia said. Such services, he added, cost between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 per day. In Rajkot, security agencies say parents are also hiring bouncers to keep tabs on teenagers involved in rash driving, street fights and risky social situations, including honeytraps. Keyur Unadkat, owner of Ram Security Agency, said many of these clients are influential politicians and businessmen keen to avoid controversy involving their children. "Sometimes the demand is for a discreet watch, where even the children do not know they are under constant surveillance," he said. "The mandate is to ensure they do not consume alcohol or substances, get into altercations or mix with the wrong people." According to agencies, families can spend upwards of Rs 50,000 a month on such monitoring. What was once a service reserved for VIPs and crowded venues is now entering private homes, reflecting the growing desperation of families struggling to manage teenagers caught in cycles of addiction and aggression.