Finding 1 of 7 Digital wellbeing
Screens, sleep and the silence around stress
Short-form video dominates attention, anxiety is routine, and isolation is the default coping strategy while professional help is almost never used.
പഠനത്തിൽ പങ്കെടുത്ത 86.2% പേരും ദിവസവും മൂന്ന് മണിക്കൂറിലധികം ഫോൺ ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നു. 60.2% പേർക്ക് റീൽസും ഷോർട്സുമാണ് ഏറ്റവും വലിയ തടസ്സം. കടുത്ത മാനസിക സമ്മർദ്ദം വരുമ്പോൾ 41.9% പേർ ആരോടും പറയാതെ ഉള്ളിലൊതുക്കുന്നു; വെറും 1.8% പേർ മാത്രമാണ് കൗൺസിലറെ സമീപിക്കുന്നത്.
86.2% of respondents spend three hours or more on their phone every day, 60.2% name short-form video as the single most disruptive habit in their lives, and when stress becomes severe 41.9% withdraw into themselves while 1.8% approach a counsellor.
Short-form video, not messaging, is the attention sink#
Daily smartphone use clusters heavily in the three-to-six hour band (58.1%), with a further 28.1% above six hours. Only 13.8% report under three hours. For a cohort that is overwhelmingly still in education, this is a very large share of waking, non-classroom time.
Asked to name the single habit that disrupts daily life most, 60.2% chose mindlessly scrolling Reels and Shorts. Chat interruption during study or work came second at 25.1%. Late-night notification checking (6.8%) and phone-separation anxiety (8.0%) were far smaller. The disruption reported here is not communication overload — it is recommendation-feed capture.
This matters for how interventions are designed. Digital-detox advice built around notification settings addresses the smallest reported problem. The dominant complaint is a feed that removes the decision to stop.
Sleep loss is common but not universal#
46.1% face sleep difficulty at least a few times a week, including 15.3% who report it almost every night. 40.9% say rarely and 13.0% never. Sleep, in other words, is under pressure for close to half the cohort while a substantial group remains unaffected — a useful corrective to blanket claims about a sleepless generation.
Anxiety is routine; help-seeking is not#
48.6% experience sudden isolation, career anxiety or unprovoked panic frequently or almost daily. Another 37.8% experience it sometimes. Only 13.5% say rarely or never.
The response to that distress is where the finding turns sharp. When stress becomes severe, 41.9% isolate themselves and internalise the problem, 34.1% talk to friends or family, 22.3% escape into scrolling or binge-watching, and 1.8% — seven respondents out of 399 — seek professional psychological counselling.
A cohort reporting near-universal exposure to anxiety and almost zero clinical contact is not evidence that help is unnecessary. It points to cost, availability, stigma, or simply not knowing that counselling is an option young people are allowed to take. Any youth mental-health programme aimed at Kerala should treat the pathway to help, not awareness of anxiety, as the bottleneck.
Figures & data tables#
Every figure below is generated from the primary response counts, with the full response table and an embed snippet attached.
What is your average daily smartphone screen time?
നിങ്ങൾ ഒരു ദിവസം ശരാശരി എത്ര സമയം സ്മാർട്ട്ഫോൺ ഉപയോഗിക്കാറുണ്ട്?
Data table
| Response | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to 6 hours | 232 | 58.1% |
| More than 6 hours | 112 | 28.1% |
| Less than 3 hours | 55 | 13.8% |
| Total answered | 399 | 100% |
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<iframe src="https://journal.moyanai.app/journal/embed/daily-screen-time" width="100%" height="420" style="border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:8px" title="What is your average daily smartphone screen time? — Moyan Journal"></iframe>
<p>Source: <a href="https://journal.moyanai.app/journal/kerala-gen-z-survey-2026">The Kerala Gen Z Report 2026</a>, Moyan AI.</p>Which smartphone habit causes you the most disruption in daily life?
താഴെ പറയുന്ന ഏത് ശീലമാണ് നിങ്ങളുടെ ദൈനംദിന ജീവിതത്തെ ഏറ്റവും കൂടുതൽ ബാധിക്കുന്നത്?
മണിക്കൂറുകളോളം ഇൻസ്റ്റാഗ്രാം റീൽസോ യൂട്യൂബ് ഷോർട്സോ സ്ക്രോൾ ചെയ്യുക
പഠനത്തിനിടയിലും മെസ്സേജ് വരുമ്പോൾ തന്നെ മറുപടി നൽകുക
ഫോൺ കയ്യിലില്ലാത്തപ്പോൾ കടുത്ത ആശങ്കയോ അസ്വസ്ഥതയോ തോന്നുക
അർദ്ധരാത്രി കഴിഞ്ഞും കിടക്കയിൽ ഇരുന്ന് നോട്ടിഫിക്കേഷനുകൾ നോക്കുക
Data table
| Response | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Mindlessly scrolling short-form videos (Reels/Shorts) for hours | 240 | 60.2% |
| Interrupting study/work immediately to reply to chat messages | 100 | 25.1% |
| Feeling anxious or restless when the phone is away from me | 32 | 8% |
| Checking notifications late at night past midnight in bed | 27 | 6.8% |
| Total answered | 399 | 100% |
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<iframe src="https://journal.moyanai.app/journal/embed/most-disruptive-phone-habit" width="100%" height="420" style="border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:8px" title="Which smartphone habit causes you the most disruption in daily life? — Moyan Journal"></iframe>
<p>Source: <a href="https://journal.moyanai.app/journal/kerala-gen-z-survey-2026">The Kerala Gen Z Report 2026</a>, Moyan AI.</p>How frequently do you face sleep challenges (insomnia, late sleep, waking up tired)?
നിങ്ങൾക്ക് പതിവായി ഉറക്കക്കുറവോ ക്ഷീണമോ അനുഭവപ്പെടാറുണ്ടോ?
അപൂർവ്വമായി മാത്രം
ആഴ്ചയിൽ ചില ദിവസങ്ങളിൽ
മിക്കവാറും എല്ലാ ദിവസവും
ഒരിക്കലുമില്ല
Data table
| Response | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Rarely | 163 | 40.9% |
| A few times a week | 123 | 30.8% |
| Almost every night | 61 | 15.3% |
| Never | 52 | 13% |
| Total answered | 399 | 100% |
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<iframe src="https://journal.moyanai.app/journal/embed/sleep-challenges" width="100%" height="420" style="border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:8px" title="How frequently do you face sleep challenges (insomnia, late sleep, waking up tired)? — Moyan Journal"></iframe>
<p>Source: <a href="https://journal.moyanai.app/journal/kerala-gen-z-survey-2026">The Kerala Gen Z Report 2026</a>, Moyan AI.</p>How often do you experience sudden feelings of isolation, career anxiety, or unprovoked panic?
കാരണമില്ലാത്ത പെട്ടെന്നുള്ള കരിയർ ആശങ്കയോ, ഒറ്റപ്പെടലോ, ഭയമോ നിങ്ങൾക്ക് ഉണ്ടാകാറുണ്ടോ?
ചിലപ്പോഴൊക്കെ
പലപ്പോഴും ഉണ്ടാകാറുണ്ട്
മിക്കവാറും ദിവസവും
അപൂർവ്വമായി / ഒരിക്കലുമില്ല
Data table
| Response | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Sometimes | 151 | 37.8% |
| Frequently | 134 | 33.6% |
| Almost daily | 60 | 15% |
| Rarely/Never | 54 | 13.5% |
| Total answered | 399 | 100% |
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<iframe src="https://journal.moyanai.app/journal/embed/anxiety-isolation-frequency" width="100%" height="420" style="border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:8px" title="How often do you experience sudden feelings of isolation, career anxiety, or unprovoked panic? — Moyan Journal"></iframe>
<p>Source: <a href="https://journal.moyanai.app/journal/kerala-gen-z-survey-2026">The Kerala Gen Z Report 2026</a>, Moyan AI.</p>If you experience severe emotional stress, what is your immediate coping mechanism?
നിങ്ങൾക്ക് കടുത്ത മാനസിക വിഷമം ഉണ്ടാകുമ്പോൾ അതിനെ മറികടക്കാൻ സാധാരണയായി എന്താണ് ചെയ്യാറുള്ളത്?
ആരോടും മിണ്ടാതെ മാറിനിൽക്കും
സുഹൃത്തുക്കളോടോ കുടുംബത്തോടോ കാര്യങ്ങൾ തുറന്നുപറയും
സോഷ്യൽ മീഡിയ സ്ക്രോൾ ചെയ്യുകയോ വീഡിയോകൾ കാണുകയോ ചെയ്യും
ഒരു ഡോക്ടറുടെയോ കൗൺസിലറുടെയോ സഹായം തേടും
Data table
| Response | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Isolating myself and internalizing the problem | 167 | 41.9% |
| Sharing my feelings with real-life friends or family | 136 | 34.1% |
| Escaping into social media scrolling or binge-watching | 89 | 22.3% |
| Seeking professional psychological counseling | 7 | 1.8% |
| Total answered | 399 | 100% |
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<iframe src="https://journal.moyanai.app/journal/embed/stress-coping-mechanism" width="100%" height="420" style="border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:8px" title="If you experience severe emotional stress, what is your immediate coping mechanism? — Moyan Journal"></iframe>
<p>Source: <a href="https://journal.moyanai.app/journal/kerala-gen-z-survey-2026">The Kerala Gen Z Report 2026</a>, Moyan AI.</p>Frequently asked#
- How much screen time do Kerala youth average per day?
- 58.1% report three to six hours a day and 28.1% report more than six hours, so 86.2% are above three hours daily (n = 399).
- What share of Kerala youth seek professional mental health help?
- 1.8% — 7 of 399 respondents — said they would seek professional psychological counselling when facing severe emotional stress. 41.9% isolate themselves instead.
- Which phone habit disrupts Kerala youth the most?
- Mindless scrolling of short-form video (Reels and Shorts) at 60.2%, well ahead of replying to chats mid-study at 25.1%.
Cite this page
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Attribution with a link back is the only condition.
Community Leadership and Social Change Program Research Scholars & Valakkulam, Y. (2026). Kerala Gen Z Screen Time & Mental Health Data 2026. Moyan Journal of Community & Society, Volume 1, Issue 1. Department of Graduate Institute, DHI University (DHIU), India; published by Moyan AI. https://journal.moyanai.app/journal/kerala-gen-z-survey-2026/findings/digital-wellbeingReference manager
Open access. This work is published under CC BY 4.0. You may copy, redistribute, adapt and reuse the text, figures and data for any purpose, including commercially, with attribution and a link back.