Crisis in the making: Over 40% urban Indian parents admit their children between ages 9-17 are addicted to videos, gaming & social media

December 2nd, 2022, New Delhi: During the 2 years of the pandemic, many children were mostly confined to their homes. Besides being engaged with online classes as in person schools were shut, one of their favourite past-time was using gadgets such as smartphones, tablets or laptops to watch videos, play online games, and chat with peers. Studies have revealed obsession with screen-time increased during the pandemic. More troubling for urban Indian parents has been allowing their children as young as 9-year-olds to use social media, including Facebook and Instagram, which they didn’t allow previously due to fears about the safety of their children and also likelihood of them being exposed to undesirable content. Their fears are not without justification as there have been many instances when such exposure has resulted in bad consequences. To cite a reported incident, a 16-year-old boy shot his mother just because she stopped him from playing “online games like PubG”. Dependency on social media and its excessive usage can also lead to poor sleep, irritability, stress, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and difficulty in concentration. Most social media platforms have set 13 as the minimum age to open an account.

In the US, experts have been advising that all kids aged up to 18 should be screened regularly for anxiety and depression as mental health problems among kids have escalated. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting device use to two hours per day at a maximum for optimal sleep quality. Pathological social media use results in the prioritization of social media relationships at the cost of real-life responsibilities and relationships. “The compulsive need to constantly check and respond to social media notifications creates distractions that interrupt the course of daily activities and conversations,” states The Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC), which works to hold social media companies legally accountable for the harm they inflict on vulnerable users.

It’s known that teens and adults alike check their phones upwards of 150 times a day. Social media addiction is a behavioral disorder in which teens or young adults become enthralled by social media and are unable to reduce or cease their consumption of online media despite clear negative consequences and severe drawbacks. “While many teenagers engage in some form of online media on a daily basis (including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Discord, Snapchat, and video games), teen social media addiction is characterized by the combination of an excessive media consumption, an increasing reliance on social media as a way to feel good, and an inability to stop or curb this behavior despite suffering losses in friendship, decreased physical social engagement, and a negative impact at school,” states Paradigm, a US based institution which treats mental health issues of teens and adolescents.

Notably, the central government has reportedly set up a committee to regulate online gaming and to identify a ministry to oversee and study global best practices and recommend a uniform regulation. It will also take into account protection of gamers from user harms such as addiction. The panel is expected to soon submit its report.

LocalCircles has been collecting urban Indian parents’ input on their experience of allowing the children to use social media. A survey released 3 years ago on December 3rd, 2019, indicated that 82% of citizens wanted government to define and enforce a minimum age for children to have social media accounts. An overwhelming 73% of citizens at the time said they don’t want their children to have any access to social media till the age of 15. The same survey also indicated that 59% of citizens were not in favour of children between 11 and 13 years having a social media account, even with parental consent.

Three years after the original survey, LocalCircles has conducted another comprehensive study to understand whether the perception of urban Indian parents about allowing their children to use social media has changed or remained the same over time particularly after having to allow them to study and interact with other students online during the pandemic. This survey has gathered feedback from parents on the usage of gadgets by their children along with consumption of social media, gaming, videos, etc. In a reflection exercise, it also sought to understand from them as to why their children are addicted to social media, videos and gaming, if that were the case. It has also collated their opinion about allowing children between 9 and 13 age-groups and teenagers between the age of 13 and 17 to have social media accounts. The survey received over 65,000 responses from citizens residing in 287 districts of India. 67% respondents were men while 33% were women. 51% respondents were from metro and tier 1 districts, 37% from tier 2 districts and 12% were from tier 3 and tier 4 districts.

62% urban Indian parents say their children between ages 13-17 are spending 3 hours or more each day on social media, videos and games on the internet

The first question in the survey asked Indian urban parents, “How much average time per day are children between ages 13-17 in your family spending on social media, video and games on the internet?” In response, 28% said “6+ hours”, 34% said “3-6 hours”, 16% said “1-3 hours”, and 6% said “Up to 1 hour”. The survey data shows: 4% of parents indicated their teenage children are “Spending hardly any time on social media, videos and games”, and 6% said “They are on mobile and other devices a lot but not sure how long they are spending” while 6% couldn’t say. On an aggregate basis, 62% of urban Indian parents say their children between ages 13-17 are spending 3 hours or more each day on social media and games on the internet. This question in the survey received 9,633 responses.

49% urban Indian parents say their children between ages 9-13 are spending 3 hours or more each day on social media, videos and online games

The next question in the survey asked urban Indian parents, “How much average time per day are children between ages 9-13 in your family spending on social media, videos and games on the internet?” In response, 24% said “6+ hours”, 25% said “3-6 hours”, 20% said “1-3 hours”, and 12% said “Up to 1 hour”. The survey data reveals that 8% of respondents indicated their children are “Spending hardly any time on social media, videos and games”, 6% said “They are on mobile and other devices a lot but not sure how long they are spending” while 5% couldn’t say. In all, out of 9,633 respondents 81% indicated that their children between ages 9-13 are spending one or more hours on social media, videos and online games.

71% urban Indian parents say their children between ages 13-17 have access to a smartphone for all or most part of their day (outside of in-person school classes)

The next question in the survey tried to find out the type of devices children between ages 13-17 had access to all or most part of their day (outside of in-person school classes). In response, 35% said “Desktop/laptop”, 31% said “Smartphone”, and 5% said “Tablet and smartphone”. The survey data shows in 16% cases “Desktop/laptop, smartphone and tablet” are accessible to the teenagers, 4% did not give a clear response. On an aggregate basis, 71% of urban Indian parents say their children between ages 13-17 have access to a smartphone for all or most part of the day (outside of in-person school classes). This question received 8,238 responses.

44% urban Indian parents say their children between ages 13-17 are absolutely addicted to social media, videos and gaming on the internet

Another question in the survey asked if parents felt that children in their family in the 13-17 age group were addicted to social media, videos, gaming on the internet. In response, 44% said “Yes, absolutely”, and 36% said “Yes, partially”, while 20% said “No”. This question received 7,995 responses.

This presents a highly concerning situation. Many good schools often report to senior school parents in group sessions cases where rehabilitation and de-addiction was needed for certain children in the past year.

55% urban Indian parents say their children between ages 9-13 have access to a smartphone for all or most part of the day (outside of in-person school classes)

The next question in the survey sought to find out the type of devices being used by children in the age group 9-13, and the access they have to it for all or most part of the day (outside of in-person school classes). In response, 13% said “Desktop/laptop”, 11% said “Tablet”, 23% said “Smartphone”, 27% said “Desktop/laptop, and smartphone”, 5% said “Tablet and smartphone”, while 18% said “All the 3 devices” and 3% couldn’t say. On an aggregate basis, 55% of urban Indian parents say their children between ages 9-13 have access to a smartphone for all or most part of the day. This question received 8,963 responses.

47% urban Indian parents say their children between ages 9-13 are absolutely addicted to social media, videos and gaming on the internet

The next question asked urban Indian parents, “Do you feel children between ages 9-13 in your family are addicted to videos, chat and gaming on the internet?” In response, 47% said “Yes, absolutely” and another 40% claimed, “Yes, partially”; 11% said “No” and 2% couldn’t say. This question received 8,877 responses.

Parents say their excessive use of gadgets and giving access to children early along with school activity becoming online during pandemic are key reasons why their children are addicted to social media, videos and gaming

The next question was a reflection exercise and it asked urban Indian parents, “What are the primary reasons that children between ages 9-17 in your family are addicted to social media, gaming, videos, etc.?” In response, 28% said “Us providing them access to gadgets earlier than we should have”, 13% said “Peer pressure”, 26% said “Many of the school related activities are becoming online”, and 31% said “Children observing parents using gadgets excessively or becoming addicted to them”. 2% couldn’t say. Largely, urban Indian parents believe that their own habit of using gadgets excessively and giving gadget access to children early along with school activity becoming online are key reasons why children are addicted to social media, videos and gaming. This question in the survey received 8,718 responses.

68% urban Indian parents believe the minimum age requirement for creating a social media account should be changed from 13 years to 15 years

A study by the National Commission for Protection of Child Right (NCPCR) found that 37.8% of children aged 10 have a Facebook account while 24.3% have an Instagram account. Many children quote their age incorrectly to create a social media account and most sites fail to detect such activity and let them enroll without any authorisation from parents. In some cases, the parents themselves create the social media accounts of children by submitting the wrong age. The next question in the survey asked, “Many of the social media platforms (Instagram, WhatsApp, Discord, Snapchat, Google Hangout, Facebook, etc.) allow a 13-year-old to create an account. What should the minimum age requirement be?” In response, 11% said it “Should be 13 only”, 12% said “Should be 15”, and 10% said “Should be 13 only with mandatory parental consent”. The majority, 56% indicated it “Should be 15 with mandatory parental consent”; 11% couldn’t say. On an aggregate basis, 68% of urban Indian parents believe the minimum age requirement for creating a social media account should be changed from 13 years to 15 years.

In summary, with a lot of content becoming online and the fast growth of video content, combined with availability of gaming and social media, a lot of urban Indian children have taken to the internet for their learning and entertainment. This entire process was significantly accelerated during the pandemic when most children in urban India started online classes with their schools and afterschool. This has led to sizable increase in usage of social media, gaming and watching videos by children and teenagers. This is evident in the findings of the survey which suggest that over 4 in 10 urban Indian parents believe that their children between the ages 9 – 17 are addicted to videos, gaming and social media. This is a worrying trend that needs attention of Government, school, parents and platforms that are offering these services. Another finding of the survey is about access which suggests that 71% of the urban Indian children between age 13-17 have access to smartphones for most part of their day (outside in-person school classes) and 55% of the urban Indian children between ages 9-13 have access to smartphones for most part of their day (outside in-person school classes). Parents themselves have identified the root cause of this issue including giving early access of gadgets to children, their own excessive usage of gadgets, school classes becoming online during pandemic and peer pressure. Whatever the damage needs to be rectified. The key now, with schools running in-person classes, is to focus on how screen time can be reduced. One of the action items which was covered in the survey was desired age to access social media. 68% of the urban Indian parents believe the minimum age requirement for creating a social media account should be changed from 13 years to 15 years. In addition, the Government needs to ensure that regulations are in place for platforms to have appropriate controls such that no child account with or without consent can be created on social media platforms under the age of 15.

The Government, the parents and the schools need to work together to guide children on the constructive use of internet and gadgets for education, accessing useful information, collaboration and to set themselves on the path of success in whatever career they choose. The risk at hand though is that due to excessive use of social media, gaming and videos, many children are already addicted to something that is taking them down the wrong path and, in some cases, an irreversible one. Let us work together as a society to reverse the trend!