Indian GenZ say social media has a positive influence, finds digital well-being study

India also saw the highest DWBI amongst males, and females with a count of 67, which was further bifurcated as parents at 69, Gen Z at 64 and teens at 70.

Also, 88 percent of Gen Zs in India say social media has a positive influence on them, the report said.

Jacqueline Beauchere, Global Head of Platform Safety, Snap Inc said, “Our Digital Well-Being research yielded findings about Gen Z’s exposure to online risks, their relationships, particularly with their parents, and their reflections about their activities over the preceding months.”

The online survey consists of 9,000 respondents consisting of Gen Z teens (aged 13-17), Gen Z adults (aged 18-24), and parents of 13-19 year-olds from Australia, UK, France, Germany, India and the US.

While India registered the highest DWBI by country, France and Germany both came below the six-country average at 60. Australia’s DWBI is 63; the UK matched the six-country average of 62, and the US scored 64.

Snap’s digital well being index leverages the PERNA model, a variation on an existing well-being theory that comprises 20 sentiment statements across five categories: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, negative emotion, and achievement.

For instance, under the Engagement category, one statement is: “Got completely absorbed in what I was doing online,” and under Relationships: “Was very satisfied with my relationships online.”

The report adds that the DWBI score was calculated for each respondent based on their level of agreement with the 20 sentiment statements. Their scores were aggregated into four DWBI groups: Flourishing (10 percent); thriving (43 percent), middling (40 percent) and struggling (7 percent).

Not surprisingly, the research showed that social media plays a major role in Gen Z’s digital well-being, with more than three-quarters (78 percent) saying social media had a positive influence on the quality of their lives. That belief was even stronger among teens (84 percent) and males (81 percent) compared to Gen Z young adults (71 percent) and females (75 percent).

The study ran from April 22 to May 10, 2022.