Economic Survey 2025-26: India’s digital boom collides with a growing addiction challenge

India’s digital economy is scaling — but for a country banking on its demographic dividend, unmanaged digital addiction risks becoming a silent drag on learning, mental health, and economic output.
 
The Economic Survey 2025-26 highlights that, “India’s youth are living in an intensely digital environment. While 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 behaviours.”
 
By the numbers:

India’s digital economy contributed 11.74% to national income in FY23 and is projected to reach 13.42% by FY25.
Internet connections have surged from 251.5 million in 2014 to 969.6 million in 2024, supported by nationwide 5G rollout and BharatNet connectivity across 2,18,000 Gram Panchayats.

By 2025, 85.5% of households owned at least one smartphone, making digital access near-universal.

Why is it a concern

Research has linked excessive digital use to sleep deprivation, anxiety, depression, stress, and reduced academic and workplace performance. While, social media addiction has been associated with low self-esteem, cyberbullying, and depression, particularly among adolescents and young adults.

The WHO has also recognised gaming disorder as a mental health condition. It shows evidence of sleep disruption, aggression, and social withdrawal, while real-money gaming and online gambling can create financial distress and suicidal tendencies.

How India is responding

As per the Economic Survey 2025-26, India’s approach toward curbing digital addiction blends guidelines, care infrastructure, and regulation.

CBSE, NCPCR, and the Pragyata framework has set norms on screen time and online safety.

Tele-MANAS, launched in 2022, has handled over 32,00,000 calls, expanding mental health access nationwide.

Specialised centres like NIMHANS’ SHUT Clinic address technology addiction.

The Online Gaming (Regulation) Act, 2025, has recently bans wagering-based money games and restricts addictive design and advertising.

Bottom line

India’s digital leap has delivered scale, inclusion, and growth—but sustaining the demographic dividend will require shifting focus from access to digital wellness, platform accountability, and early mental health intervention.