Young people fear people they know online, not strangers, finds survey

Unwanted contact from known persons exceeds stranger-initiated contact, a latest survey that studied online digital habits of people aged 11–30 years has found. The 17 to 18 age group reports the highest rates of unwanted contact from known persons at 53.1 per cent, marking this transition period as particularly vulnerable, the survey found.

These finding challenge the dominant ‘stranger danger’ narrative that has shaped online safety discourse and suggests that risk arises substantially within friends, acquaintances, classmates, and sometimes family members, said the SCREEN (Student Cyber Resilience, Education and Empowerment Nationwide), a nationwide survey of nearly 4,000 young people aged 11–30 that reveals interesting trends in young people’s online digital habits.

The survey titled 'How young Indians navigate digital life' is conducted by Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC). The findings were released on Wednesday during the Youth in the Loop Summit 2026 by YLAC and The Quantum Hub (TQH).

“The SCREEN findings make it clear that young people are not asking to be excluded from the internet; they are asking for safer, fairer, and more transparent digital spaces,” said Aprajita Bharti, Co-founder, Young Leaders for Active Citizenship

The key findings from the survey are:

-Household-level smartphone access stands at 77.9%, with minimal gender variation in our sample (females 80.5%, males 76.7%), including shared device usage.

-Computer/laptop access at the household level tells a different story: 72.5% in metros versus just 36.5% in rural areas. This 36-percentage-point gap represents a capability divide with significant educational and economic implications.

-Around 60% of school students reported that their schools do not allow phones to be carried into the school. However, around one-third of them reported that the ban is not effectively enforced.

-Unwanted contact from known persons (37.9%) exceeds stranger-initiated contact (23.4%). The 17 to 18 age group reports the highest rates of unwanted contact from known persons at 53.1%, marking this transition period as particularly vulnerable.

-Compulsive scrolling is slightly more common among males than among females (33.1% versus 30.7%), while sleep disruption 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 emerge as the primary sources of support, with roughly one-third of respondents citing each.

-Siblings provided support for nearly one in five respondents (19.9%), while school and college seniors (16.4%) and teachers (15.6%) each served as confidants for approximately one in six young people.