Younger adolescents face more social media stress than older teenagers
A PGIMER study found that children aged 10-13 experience higher levels of digital stress and problematic social media use than older teens.
A study by the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, suggests that younger adolescents are more vulnerable to social media pressures. According to a report by The Times of India, children aged 10-13 experienced more digital stress than teenagers aged 14-16.
The research, titled Social Media Use and Digital Stress Among School Adolescents in North India, surveyed 1,306 students from various schools in urban Chandigarh and the rural Raipur Rani block of Panchkula district. The study was conducted between January and April 2026 by teams from the PGIMER Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health and the Department of Psychiatry.
Findings indicated that 52 per cent of students reported mild to severe digital stress. Within the younger group of 10-13 year olds, 20 per cent reported problematic social media use, while this figure was approximately 12 per cent for those aged 14-16.
The study noted that 32 per cent of students used social media for over three hours on weekdays. Among these heavy users, 64 per cent reported digital stress on weekdays, compared to 46 per cent of those who spent less time on platforms.
Researchers found that 40 per cent of students had internet dependency, which was linked to digital stress. Girls and urban adolescents reported higher instances of the fear of missing out (FOMO).
The PGIMER findings are based on a cross-sectional survey. While the study shows an association between social media use and digital stress, it cannot establish that social media use alone caused the stress.