Okay, so what do you make of this? Stop surfing, make friends, Indian students told - CNN.com

One of India’s top engineering schools has restricted Internet access in its hostels, saying addiction to surfing, gaming and blogging was affecting students’ performance, making them reclusive and even suicidal.

Authorities at the elite Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai said students had stopped socializing and many were late for morning classes or slept through them.

“Now, a student doesn’t even know who lives two doors away from him because he is so busy on the Internet,” said Prakash Gopalan, dean of student affairs.

“The old hostel culture of camaraderie and socializing among students is gone. This is not healthy in our opinion.”

IIT-Mumbai, with about 5,000 students, is one of seven IITs across India which are considered to be among the finest engineering schools in the world. They are also a talent pool for global technology giants.

But their exacting curriculum, tough competition and reclusive campus lifestyle have taken a toll on students.

Depression and dysfunctional lifestyles are known to be common among IIT students, and at least nine have committed suicide in the past five years. IIT-Mumbai has seen two suicides in two years and several attempts.

Students have unlimited free Internet access in their hostel rooms to help them in their studies, but many also use it to surf, chat, download movies and music, blog and for gaming.

Am I reading this correctly? There is a high rate of depression, “dysfunctional lifestyles”, and suicide among these technology students. They feel it’s due to a tough curriculum and reclusive behavior. Therefore, take away the internet. Now they should feel better.

Okay, more seriously, what do you think about this reaction by the school officials? How effective would taking the internet (including the social tools they admittedly use like blogs) away from the students be in causing them to be more active and social? And more importantly, would it cause less depression, “dysfunctional lifestyles”, and suicide?