Economic Survey 2026 flags digital addiction as key challenge for India

The Economic Survey has cautioned that digital addiction is a key threat to India’s youth and proposed that the government may consider age-based access limits, as young users are more prone to compulsive use and exposure to harmful content, mirroring policies adopted by several Western nations in recent years.

 

Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, regularly counts India among its largest user bases, along with Alphabet’s YouTube. Large language model (LLM) makers such as Claude and OpenAI say the same as they seek to push their products deeper into the ecosystem, while binge-watching on OTT platforms such as Netflix and Prime has become a de facto habit for millions of young people. The country is also the second-largest smartphone market globally.

 

 

The Survey said platforms should be made responsible for enforcing age verification and age-appropriate defaults, particularly for social media, gambling apps, auto-play features and targeted advertising.

 

“Families should be educated and encouraged to promote screen-time limits, device-free hours and shared offline activities. Parental workshops should be provided through schools and community centres to train guardians in setting healthy boundaries, recognising signs of addiction, and using parental control tools effectively. Policies on age-based access limits may be considered,” the report suggested.

 

Legal experts noted that the current regulatory mechanism in India does not yet provide for such measures. The Information Technology Act, 2000, and its associated rules govern intermediary liability and content takedown, requiring platforms to remove unlawful content promptly. However, the law does not impose age-based access restrictions. Meanwhile, the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, complements the IT Act by mandating parental consent for processing children’s data; however, it does not ban access outright.

 

Salman Waris, founder and managing partner, TechLegis, said: “What’s being proposed in India is not a blanket ban on social media for minors like Australia’s model, but instead an approach focused on verifiable parental consent for children under 18 to access social media, as outlined in the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules. This also aligns with global frameworks like the EU’s GDPR (default age 16) and the US COPPA (under 13), prioritising data protection over outright prohibition.”

 

Hence, it creates a regulatory framework centred on accountability and consent, rather than exclusion.

 

Digital addiction is defined as addictive behaviour linked to digital devices, including smartphones, the internet, gaming and social media addiction. It is a pattern of excessive or compulsive engagement with digital devices or online activities that leads to distress and functional impairment, described as persistent, excessive or obsessive computer and online use causing psychological impairment.

 

This has been partially fuelled by the country’s rapid digitisation over the past 12 years. Internet connections in India grew to about 97 crore in 2024, up from 25.1 crore in 2014. In 2024, 48 per cent of internet users watched videos online and 43 per cent accessed social media.

 

“With near-universal mobile and internet use among 15–29-year-olds, access is no longer the binding constraint; the focus needs to shift to behavioural health considerations such as the rising problems of digital addiction, quality of content, wellbeing impacts, and digital hygiene.”

 

One of the ways to do this, the report said, is promoting simpler devices for children, such as basic phones or education-only tablets, along with enforced usage limits and content filters. This can further reduce exposure to harmful material, including violent, sexual or gambling-related content.

 

Network-layer safeguards, such as ISP-level interventions, can complement such measures by offering family data plans with differentiated quotas for educational versus recreational apps and default blocking of high-risk categories, with opt-in overrides available to guardians.