RANCHI: Due to urban lifestyle, social networks and girlfriends around 2.32 lakh young male students have lost concentration and interest in studies forcing them to seek help of psychiatrists. In the last five-years a total of 2.34 lakh male students in the 14-22 age group visited the Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences (RINPAS) here. As much as 90% of them have complained of zero concentration and loss of academic interest. Experts say it is a countrywide phenomenon which has affected the students' academic performance.

While a majority of patients at RINPAS are from Jharkhand, others are from Bihar, UP and Chhattisgarh.

Dr Jaya Prakash associate professor at RINPAS said on Thursday that boys get depressed when their efforts to impress a girl fail or their girlfriends ditch them or their peers ride costlier bikes and own smarter phones than them. Students of Class VII and above have started having girlfriends today, Because his mind is delicate, a young student gets depressed at the slightest of aberration in the relationship, said experts.

In the last seven months RINPAS has treated 59,509 male patients. Almost 90% of them were in the age group of 14 to 22 years. RINPAS director Amool Ranjan Singh said, "The boys are not venturing into the love world as an amateur. They even tend to have high expectations from their girlfriends. When things do not work out as desired they fall sick mentally."

A senior mental health professional cited an example. "A Class VII boy recently came with a complain of zero concentration. He told me that he lost concentration and interest in studies ever since his girlfriend, a classmate, started dating a richer guy (from their own class). It was after rounds of counselling that the boy finally regained his concentration and interests in studies," he said.

Facebook is no less to blame. "Facebook fuels competition as guys post snaps of new bikes, smart phones, photos of visits to posh restaurants and luxury cars bought by their parents. It severely depresses students from humble background. If not treated in time it may also lead to their becoming suicidal," said clinical psychologist Aditi Singh Sharma.

Associate professor Dr K S Sengar said due to the new-age phenomenon students' brilliance is at stake. "Preoccupied with it (Facebook, girlfriends, negative competition among peers), students ignore studies. It results in poor academic performance. This is also responsible for the increase in the number of suicide cases of teenagers after results are announced every year," said Sengar.