Unsolicited contact from known people outnumbers contact initiated by strangers, the latest survey which examined the online digital habits of 11-30 year olds has found. The 17- to 18-year-old age group reported the highest rate of unwanted contact with known people at 53.1%, marking this transition period as particularly vulnerable, the survey found.
These findings challenge the dominantstranger danger” a narrative that has shaped the discourse about online safety and suggests that risk essentially arises among friends, acquaintances, classmates and sometimes family members, said SCREEN (Student Cyber Resilience, Education and Empowerment Nationwide), and national survey almost 4,000 young people aged 11-30, which reveals interesting trends in online digital habits.
The survey titled “How Young Indians Navigate Digital Life” is conducted by the company Young leaders for active citizenship (YLAC). The findings were released Wednesday during the Youth in the Loop Summit 2026 by YLAC and The Quantum Hub (TQH).
“SCREEN’s findings make it clear that young people are not asking to be excluded from the internet, but are demanding safer, fairer and more transparent digital spaces,” said Aprajita Bharti, co-founder of Young Leaders for Active Citizenship.
Key findings from the survey are:
-Smartphone access at the household level is 77.9%, with minimal gender differences in our sample (females 80.5%, males 76.7%), including the use of shared devices.
– Computer/laptop access to household level tells a different story: 72.5% in metros versus just 36.5% in rural areas. This 36 percentage point difference represents an ability gap with significant educational and economic consequences.
– Approximately 60% of school students reported that their schools do not allow phones to be brought to school. However, about one-third of them said the ban was not effectively enforced.
– Unsolicited contact from known persons (37.9%) exceeds contact initiated by a stranger (23.4%). The 17-18 age group reported the highest rate of unwanted contact with known persons at 53.1%, marking this transition period as particularly vulnerable.
–Compulsive scrolling it is slightly more common in men than in women (33.1% vs. 30.7%), while sleep disturbance shows no gender difference (both 21.8%).
The survey asked respondents who they usually talk to if they have a bad, uncomfortable or unsafe online experience. Friends and parents appear as the primary sources of support, with roughly one-third of respondents each citing them.
Another finding
– The most frequently cited source of support was friends with 32.8%, closely followed by parents with 30.2%.
-Siblings provided support to almost one in five respondents (19.9%), while school and college seniors (16.4%) and teachers (15.6%) served as confidants to approximately one in six young people.
