Mumbai: Social media has a significant impact on children, shaping their behaviour, emotions and mental health at an early age. Constant screen time can reduce real-life interactions, weaken family communication, and affect concentration and emotional development.
Following the death of three minor sisters after they jumped from the 9th floor of their residential building in Ghaziabad late on Tuesday night, actor Sonu Sood expressed concern over online gaming addiction and excessive social media usage among children, and urged parents and authorities to impose strict restrictions on minors’ access to digital platforms.
Responding to the incident, Sood shared a video message on Instagram, saying that children today face immense, invisible pressure from constant exposure to online gaming and social media, while lacking emotional support and meaningful interactions at home.
The actor said, “…three children lost their lives in Ghaziabad. These children were not defeated, they were abandoned. In the world of online and social media, we have abandoned our children so far that we cannot hear their silence.”
Three girls lost their lives in Ghaziabad today. No to violence, no to poverty. But due to the unseen pressure of online gaming and digital addiction.
I have raised my voice before, and I will say it again.⁰Social media and online gaming should be banned for children…– Sonu Sood (@SonuSood) 4 February 2026
Sood reiterated his earlier stance that children below 16 years of age should be kept away from social media and online gaming, except for educational purposes. He said that although technology is essential for education, unrestricted access can put young lives at risk.
“Some time ago, I had said that we have to keep children below 16 years of age away from the online and social media world. But we get so busy in our lives that we forget that we have another member of our family which is our mobile phone, our social media, with whom children want to spend more time than us,” he said, calling for strong involvement and emotional support of parents.
The ‘Dabangg’ actor said, “If we want their life, our life, their future, the future of our country to be better, then it is necessary to impose a ban. You think they don’t need screens, they need our support. Children don’t need mobiles, they need our presence, they don’t need scolding, they need our conversation.”
Parents, often due to busy lifestyles, unknowingly focus their time and attention on mobile phones for their children. Giving a phone becomes an easy way to keep the kids busy, but it gradually reduces the real interaction, conversation and emotional connection within the family.
Sood acknowledged that technology is important for education, but he also warned that uncontrolled use, especially access to social media and online gaming, can harm children’s mental and emotional well-being.
He said, “But we don’t even have time for them. Because we have given them mobile phones with social media so that they keep reading, keep watching. Technology is necessary for education, but it does not mean that we are risking the lives of our children for that technology.”
The famous star stressed that young children should only use phones for learning purposes and not for social media, and called for collective action to limit digital exposure so that children grow up with family support and human connections instead of screens and virtual platforms.
He said, “There should be mobile phones for education, but not for social media, especially for children of young age. Let us together today try to remove the member who is dividing our family. Before that, let us together make a law so that our children can live with us, not with social media, not with online gaming.”
Sonu Sood wrote in the caption, “Social media can wait. Childhood can’t.”
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According to preliminary information from Ghaziabad Police, the minors used to play online task-based games.
The tragic incident occurred at around 2:15 am last night under Tila Mod police limits in Loni area. Assistant Police Commissioner Atul Kumar Singh said that the deceased minor girls have been identified as Nishika (16), Prachi (14) and Pakhi (12), daughters of Chetan Kumar, resident of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
The ACP further said that the minors were immediately taken to a 50-bed hospital, where they were declared dead.
After the incident, Sood wrote on It’s about safety, it’s time to act before it’s too late.
Trans-Hindon Deputy Commissioner of Police Nimish Patil on Thursday said the three minor girls who jumped to death from the 9th floor of their residential building in Ghaziabad were apparently influenced by Korean culture.
DCP Patil said police found a suicide note at the residence, which explained that he was influenced by Korean culture. However, no specific name of any game application was mentioned in the note.
He said, “In the early hours of February 4, we received information that three girls jumped off a building. They were declared brought dead at the hospital. We have found a suicide note in the case. From the suicide note, it is clear that the three girls were influenced by Korean culture. No particular app was named. The entire family was present in the house at the time of the incident, but they were sleeping…”
Arun Kumar, an eyewitness, told ANI that he saw the girls jumping from the building, and it looked like one of them had planned to jump while the others were trying to save her.
“I saw all three of them jump. It was so sudden, before I could do anything or call anyone, it happened. They were sitting on the balcony glass… It was unusual. It happened around 2 am… From what I saw, one of them planned to jump, and the rest fell in trying to save him. I called the police and the ambulance…” he said.
According to Sonu Sood, without proper guidance and boundaries, social media can take over children who are still developing the ability to process stress and emotions. Balanced use, parental involvement, and age-appropriate restrictions are essential to protect children’s mental and emotional health.