4 months ago
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GUWAHATI:
A caller nationwide survey has recovered that astir six successful 10 young Indians acquisition antagonistic affectional effects from extended clip online, and risks connected the net are much apt to travel from radical they cognize than from strangers.
The findings travel from SCREEN (Student Cyber Resilience, Education, and Empowerment Nationwide), a survey of immoderate 4,000 young radical aged 11 to 30 year, astir of them from economically disadvantaged communities.
The survey study was released connected Wednesday (January 14, 2026) astatine the Youth successful the Loop Summit 2026, convened successful New Delhi by Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC) and The Quantum Hub.
The uncovering challenges the ascendant “stranger danger” communicative astir online safety. Unwanted interaction from known persons was reported by 37.9% of respondents, compared with 23.4% who experienced specified interaction from strangers.
The occupation was astir acute among 17-18-year-olds, implicit fractional of whom (53.1%) reported unwanted interaction from radical they already knew, specified arsenic friends, classmates, oregon acquaintances.
The survey besides highlights crisp integer entree inequalities. While 77.9% of respondents reported household-level smartphone access, entree to computers oregon laptops showed a stark urban-rural divide: 72.5% successful metros compared with conscionable 36.5% successful agrarian areas, a 36% spread with large implications for acquisition and employment.
Digital literacy remains limited, the survey shows. Only 37.1% of respondents said they could efficaciously usage online reporting oregon moderation tools, portion 1 successful 5 were unaware that specified tools exist.
Awareness and capableness were lowest among younger users and agrarian respondents; among 11-13-year-olds, conscionable 20.9% could usage these tools effectively.
The Great Indian Unhappiness: What a study says astir India’s young and old
Emotional toll of being online
The affectional toll of online engagement is widespread. Some 60% of young radical reported identifiable antagonistic affectional responses linked to prolonged integer use.
A 4th said they felt anxious, overwhelmed oregon experienced fearfulness of missing out, portion a akin proportionality reported feeling bushed oregon mentally exhausted. Nearly 1 successful 4 expressed guilt oregon regret astir the magnitude of clip they walk online.
The survey besides points to gendered patterns of integer harm. Girls were much apt to study antagonistic societal comparison, portion boys reported higher levels of gaming compulsion, compulsive scrolling and sharing contented they aboriginal regretted. Sleep disruption, however, showed nary sex difference.
When facing atrocious oregon unsafe online experiences, friends (32.8%) and parents (30.2%) emerged arsenic the main sources of support. Yet, 14.5% of respondents said they told nary one, indicating that a important number navigate online harm successful isolation.
AI chatbots, portion inactive marginal, are opening to look arsenic a enactment option, utilized by 6.4% of respondents.
Asked what they would astir similar to amended online, young radical overwhelmingly pointed to net connectivity and velocity (38.2%), followed by gaming-related concerns, cybercrime, bullying and contented moderation.
“The findings amusement that young radical are not asking to beryllium excluded from the internet; they are asking for safer, fairer and much transparent integer spaces,” YLAC co-founder Aprajita Bharti said.
The acme concluded with a telephone for online information approaches that spell beyond regularisation and spot young radical astatine the centre of argumentation design, reflecting however the net is really experienced by its youngest users.
