Instagram most preferred platform among Indian youth — nearly 30% share sensitive information online

Instagram has emerged as the most preferred social media platform among the Indian youth while YouTube garnered most attention amid pandemic, with 98 per cent of those surveyed installed it in their phones followed by Netflix and Amazon Prime, a new report said on Friday.

Although the survey size was small (1154 respondents), the report by Youth Online Learning Organization (YOLO) said that nearly 80 per cent of the respondents were consuming social media when online.

While 70 per cent opted for Instagram, 20 per cent reported Facebook as their first choice.

It further brought forward the concerns and challenges of using the Internet which included lack of awareness about the healthy and responsible consumption of the internet.

Nearly 30 per cent of those surveyed accepted to have shared sensitive information on the Internet.

"The majority of the respondents were non-adult users and had their own smartphones to surf through the net. This shows the power of the internet and its medium and how it can initiate ripples of change if used wisely while targeting the right audience," said Prem Prakash, Co-founder, YOLO.

"It is high time for OTT platforms to start using their platform for a good cause and work towards creating a social change via their content".

The survey conducted by YOLO along with IGPP (Institute for Governance, Policies & Politics) and Social Media Matters (SMM) found that 75 per cent of the respondents use the Internet for their academic activity, followed by entertainment through video streaming and OTTs.

"We request the social media and OTT platforms to pay heed to what floats on their portal because it could lead to an impact, positive or negative, that solely depends on their content," said Vikram Singh, Co-Founder, Social Media Matters.

The study found that there is a need to promote awareness and capacity development programmes among youth to promote awareness about safe and healthy Internet usage.

"Almost 85 per cent non-adult users have their own phones. More than 49 per cent user spent around 5 hours a day and around 30 per cent used it for more than 6 hours a day. This is alarming and very high usage for the young population," said Dr Manish Tiwari, Senior Fellow, IGPP.

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