With online safety very much at the forefront of worldwide discussions, India has emerged at the top as the leader of digital well-being, with an index score of 67/100, this report said it was fueled by a strong underpinning by parental trust and support for its teens. A report released Monday said.
The country ranks first in online satisfaction, with 58% of respondents expressing contentment with their digital experiences, compared to 53% in the US and 42% in the UK, the report by Snap Inc. said.
India also reported the strongest support networks for young people, with respondents having 9 to 12 sources of guidance, such as parents, teachers, and mentors.
However, 78% of Indian Gen Z users looked for help from others, compared to 65% in 2023, the report added.
There has been an increase in parental engagement, with 70% of parents regularly checking in on their teens' online activities, up from 62% in 2023.
According to the findings, online threats such as sextortion and grooming were at their highest among Indian Gen Z users. About 71% of Indian Gen Z respondents said they had been targeted for sextortion, with 55% falling victim, the report highlighted.
In this regard, 77% reported losing control over intimate images that they shared while 80% of these reports were involving children aged 13-17. Furthermore, the respondents experienced grooming in 60%, and most of them being minors.
This is another great concern; ignorance about the implications of law if one shares the explicit content concerning minors.
The report indicated that 52% of the respondents were wrong in thinking that such content was legal not to report, the highest percentage among all the countries under survey.
Besides, 36% believed that it was lawful to share and view such images, while 39% said that storing them online was legal, the report indicated.
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