New Delhi: In a first across the globe, Australia last month implemented a ban on social media for children under 16.
France is on the way to introducing legislation which will bar minors under the age of 15 from access to social networks and ‘social networking functionalities’ embedded within broader platforms.
India might well tread on a similar path soon, if observations of the Economic Survey 2025-26 are any indicator.
The Economic Survey, tabled in Parliament on Thursday, has flagged the rapid rise of digital addiction and screen-related mental health challenges, particularly among children and adolescents in our country.
The report has described the trend as alarming, and warned that excessive engagement with smartphones, social media, gaming and online platforms is taking a significant toll on wellbeing, learning outcomes, and long-term economic productivity.
“Policies on age-based access limits may be considered, as younger users are more vulnerable to compulsive use and harmful content,” stated the report written by the Central government’s chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran.
‘Digital addiction’ has been defined as a pattern of persistent, excessive, or compulsive use of digital devices and online activities that leads to psychological distress and functional impairment.
Such behaviour manifests in the form of reduced concentration, sleep deprivation, anxiety and declining academic or workplace performance, according to the report. It also weakens social capital by eroding peer networks, lowering community participation and diminishing offline social skills, the report added.
Personal and social consequences apart, the report also highlighted wider economic costs such as direct financial losses from impulsive online spending, gaming, and cyber fraud, and also indirect losses through reduced employability, lower productivity, and diminished lifetime earnings.
The survey observed that compulsive digital use is closely linked to anxiety, stress, depression and sleep disorder, especially among students under academic pressure.
The report has raised specific concern over social media addiction, which it says is strongly associated with anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, cyberbullying stress and higher suicide rates.
The survey noted that several Indian and global studies have found high prevalence of these issues among young people aged 15 to 24.
In 2024, almost half of India’s internet users watched online videos, 43 per cent accessed social media, 40 per cent used email or streamed music, and 26 per cent made digital payments. In absolute numbers, this translates to around 40 crore users on OTT video and food delivery platforms and close to 35 crore on social media.
Hence, India’s youth are growing up in an intensely digital environment, the survey said.
Making the point that policy focus must shift towards behavioural health concerns, including addiction risks, content quality, wellbeing impacts, and digital hygiene, the survey recommends structured interventions.
These include cyber-safety education, peer-mentor programmes, mandatory physical activity in schools, parental training on screen-time management, age-appropriate digital access policies, and greater accountability for online platforms hosting harmful content.
Families should be encouraged to adopt screen-time limits, device-free hours, and shared offline activities, the survey suggested.
The report mentioned international examples such as Australia’s introduction of strictest measures against youth digital addiction and South Korea’s 2011 ‘Shutdown Law,’ which restricted minors from accessing gaming websites after midnight, and was later replaced by parental control models.
China enforces strict gaming limits through a real-name registration and ‘fatigue’ system that caps playtime to one hour per day on weekends and holidays, while Singapore has taken a community-based approach through its Media Literacy Council, promoting cyber wellness and responsible digital citizenship across schools and public platforms, the survey noted.
