New Delhi: The Economic Survey 2025–26, tabled in Parliament Thursday, has flagged digital addiction as a rising challenge for India’s youth living in an increasingly online digital environment. India, it says, needs to shift focus from access alone to behavioural health concerns such as digital addiction, quality of content, wellbeing impacts, and digital hygiene.
“While obesity and inadequate nutrition threaten the physical health of youth, digital addiction undermines their cognitive and social development. Together, these interconnected challenges necessitate policies to safeguard the health and human capital of the next generation,” says the survey.
It added that while digital access fuels learning, jobs, and civic participation, “compulsive and high-intensity use can impose real economic and social costs,” ranging from lost study hours and reduced productivity to healthcare burdens and financial losses resulting from risky online behaviour.
The survey defines digital addiction as addictive behaviour linked to digital devices, including smartphones, the internet, gaming, and social media.
It describes it as a behavioural pattern of excessive or compulsive engagement that leads to distress and functional impairment, marked by “persistent, excessive, or obsessive computer and online use”.
The warning comes even as India’s digital footprint continues to expand and power economic growth. The survey notes that the digital economy contributed 11.74 percent to national income in FY23, with projections of 13.42 percent in FY25.
In India, the number of internet connections grew from 25.15 crore in 2014 to 96.96 crore in 2024, driven by the rollout of 5G and BharatNet fibre reaching 2.18 lakh gram panchayats, the survey notes.
According to the survey, by 2025, 85.5 percent of households owned at least one smartphone, making digital access nearly universal.
The economic survey says that internet usage is also high. In 2024, 48 percent of internet users watched videos online, 43 percent used social media, 40 percent accessed email or music, and 26 percent made digital payments. In absolute numbers, this translates to about 40 crore users for over-the-top (OTT) video and food delivery and nearly 35 crore users for social media.
This scale of exposure has costs.
According to the survey, digital addiction affects academic performance and work productivity due to distractions, sleep loss, and reduced focus.
This digital dependency is severely impacting the mental health of young Indians, particularly among those between the ages of 15 and 24, with extensive studies confirming high rates of social media addiction.
The crisis, the survey says, manifests through anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and cyberbullying stress, worsened by compulsive habits and gaming disorders. Consequently, young people face severe sleep disruptions, aggression, and social isolation.
“The Economic Survey’s focus on mental health is timely and necessary. Screen addiction, anxiety and behavioural disorders among children and young adults are emerging as a silent productivity risk,” Dr Dharminder Nagar, managing director, Paras Health & co-chair, FICCI Healthcare Committee, told ThePrint.
“Policy must now move beyond awareness to action, mandating physical activity in schools, strengthening counselling infrastructure, guiding parental screen use, and holding digital platforms accountable for mental harm,” he added.
Also Read: Health ministry eases drug trial rules. Test licences scrapped, CDSCO approval timelines cut by half
Global responses
The survey also reviews how countries are responding to digital addiction.
The World Health Organization has recognised gaming disorder as a mental health condition under the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), a global standard for diagnostic codes used to record and report health conditions, diseases, and causes of death, enabling data comparison internationally.
Australia has banned social media accounts for children under 16. China limits online gaming time for minors through real-name systems. Singapore focuses on media literacy and cyber wellness, while the UK has a Digital Resilience Framework for schools and platforms. Many countries have restricted smartphone use in classrooms.
How India has responded
In India, the response includes CBSE guidelines on safe internet use, the Pragyata framework on screen time in education, and child protection guidelines on online safety.
The survey notes that Tele-MANAS (Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States), the national mental health helpline launched in 2022, has received over 32 lakh calls. The Online Gaming (Regulation) Act, 2025 banned online money games involving wagering and restricted any such advertising.
At the state level, some governments have begun school-level and community measures.
Kerala, for instance, has launched the ‘D-DAD’ (Digital De-Addiction Center) project, which focuses on combating excessive mobile, social media, and gaming addiction among children through free counseling, therapy, and expert guidance.
Karnataka also launched the Digital Detox Centre (DDC) – ‘Beyond Screens’ initiative to promote mental well-being and a balanced approach to digital engagement.
“Young people today are growing up under constant pressure: to perform, to fit in, to stay online. Screens often replace real connection, movement, and rest, quietly affecting mental health,” said Dr Arti Anand, senior consultant and clinical psychologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. “Prevention begins with listening without judgment, creating safe spaces, encouraging balance, and promoting to youth that their worth is not measured by screens.”
The road ahead
On the way forward, the Economic Survey says that India lacks comprehensive national data on its prevalence and mental health effects, and this limits targeted interventions, resource allocation, and integration of mental health into national health strategies.
It adds that the upcoming Second National Mental Health Survey (NMHS), led by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, and commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is expected to generate insights into the prevalence of mental health issues in India.
Recognising that digital addiction also affects adults, the report suggests awareness programmes in colleges and workplaces, technology-free zones, and encouraging “digital diets involving voluntary device-free periods”.
For severe cases, “community-based, device-free spaces can provide professional support,” citing Karnataka’s Digital Detox Centre as a model.
For children and adolescents, the survey emphasises the role of schools and families. It recommends a Digital Wellness Curriculum, reduced dependence on online teaching tools, parental workshops, and making platforms responsible for “enforcing age verification and age-appropriate defaults”.
It also proposes expanding Tele-MANAS, calling it “a natural evolution of India’s national tele-mental health programme”, to enable early intervention and wider access to support.
On the way forward, the survey says India lacks comprehensive national data on digital addiction, which limits targeted action. The upcoming National Mental Health Survey is expected to fill this gap. It calls for clear indicators on screen time, sleep, anxiety, academic outcomes, and online safety.
The report argues for a balance rather than bans.
“India’s challenge is to rebalance youth engagement by combining restrictive safeguards with positive offline opportunities and not to demonise technology,” it says.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
Also Read: 83% Indians with cancer face ‘catastrophic’ non-medical costs, 75% travel over 500 km for treatment