Research Briefs
A daily, single-question research brief from the Kerala Gen Z Survey 2026 (n = 399). Each brief reads one primary figure closely, states what it does and does not support, and ships with a citation and the underlying chart.
Written by the Community Leadership and Social Change Program Research Scholars, Department of Graduate Institute, DHI University (DHIU), India. Every figure traces to the Kerala Gen Z Report 2026 response sheet (n = 399). Licensed CC BY 4.0.
Published briefs
Cross-cutting analysis ·
Six policy questions this dataset can actually answer
Closing brief: what the 399 responses support, and where new fieldwork is required.
Read the briefCross-cutting analysis ·
What the data says would make them stay
Salary thresholds, drivers and return intent assembled into one retention picture.
Read the briefCross-cutting analysis ·
Appetite without scaffolding
High venture interest, low scheme awareness, missing mentorship.
Read the briefCross-cutting analysis ·
The employability gap as a migration engine
Degree confidence, skill sourcing and the intention to leave.
Read the briefCross-cutting analysis ·
Screen hours and sleep loss, read together carefully
Why two co-occurring figures are not yet a causal finding.
Read the briefSample & demographics ·
Gender composition and what it constrains
The sample's gender distribution, and the claims it rules out.
Read the briefSample & demographics ·
Education level of the cohort
Highest completed or ongoing education across the sample.
Read the briefSample & demographics ·
District coverage and where the sample thins
An honest map of which districts are well covered and which are not.
Read the briefSample & demographics ·
Urban and rural in the sample
Geographic setting of respondents and its interpretive weight.
Read the briefSample & demographics ·
Who answered: the age profile of the sample
Reading the cohort's age distribution before reading its opinions.
Read the briefCross-cutting analysis ·
High interpersonal trust, low institutional trust
The study's sharpest contrast: neighbours are trusted, newsrooms are not.
Read the briefPluralism & media ·
Three in four say friction is manufactured for views
Trust in Kerala's mainstream media, measured directly.
Read the briefPluralism & media ·
Comfort across faith lines stays high
Willingness to live near and collaborate with families of another faith.
Read the briefPluralism & media ·
The automatic response to a polarising post
Scroll past, argue, report or share — what respondents actually do.
Read the briefPluralism & media ·
When the feed changes how you see your neighbour
How often online content has negatively altered real-world perceptions of another community.
Read the briefPluralism & media ·
How mixed is the closest friend circle?
Religious and cultural diversity among respondents' five closest friends.
Read the briefEntrepreneurship ·
What happens after a venture fails
Stated response to a startup failing within its first two years.
Read the briefEntrepreneurship ·
How local society reads a young entrepreneur
Perceived social standing of independent ventures in Kerala.
Read the briefEntrepreneurship ·
The Kerala Startup Mission awareness gap
How many young Keralites know about KSUM grants and incubation.
Read the briefEntrepreneurship ·
Mentorship, not capital, is named as the top barrier
The structural blocker respondents put first.
Read the briefEntrepreneurship ·
Venture or government job: what wins when forced to choose
Stated preference between own venture and a secure salaried post.
Read the briefEntrepreneurship ·
Two in three want to start something
Appetite for enterprise among young Keralites.
Read the briefCross-cutting analysis ·
Civic disconnection and the intention to leave
Two of the study's strongest signals, read side by side.
Read the briefCivic engagement ·
Is mainstream politics a legitimate career?
Baseline perceptions of political work as an occupation.
Read the briefCivic engagement ·
Why Gen Z skips the ward sabha
The reasons respondents give for avoiding physical public consultation.
Read the briefCivic engagement ·
Most cannot name the youth funds set aside for them
Awareness of ring-fenced panchayat youth development budgets.
Read the briefCivic engagement ·
The reporting channel young Keralites actually choose
Where a pothole complaint goes when the complainant is under 30.
Read the briefCivic engagement ·
How many young Keralites have ever attended a Grama Sabha
Physical participation in the state's flagship local-democracy platform.
Read the briefMigration intent ·
A ₹35,000 entry salary does not reverse the exit
A large minority would still leave even at the salary threshold usually proposed as the fix.
Read the briefMigration intent ·
Return intent among prospective migrants
Whether those planning to leave expect to settle back in Kerala.
Read the briefMigration intent ·
Who shapes the decision to migrate
Family, peers, agents or feeds — the influence map behind migration aspirations.
Read the briefMigration intent ·
The primary driver behind the exit
What respondents name as the main reason they want to leave Kerala.
Read the briefMigration intent ·
Intent versus timetable: who is actually leaving within two years
Separating aspiration from an active near-term plan.
Read the briefMigration intent ·
67.7% intend to migrate out of Kerala
Migration is the baseline expectation in this cohort, not the exception.
Read the briefCross-cutting analysis ·
Heavy AI use sits alongside low confidence in the degree
Two figures read together: near-universal AI adoption and a weak belief in credential value.
Read the briefAI in education ·
The single non-user: what saturation means for assessment
When a tool reaches 99.7% of a cohort, take-home assessment stops measuring what it claims to.
Read the briefAI in education ·
57.9% use generative AI daily for academic work
One respondent in 399 has never used it. Adoption preceded policy.
Read the briefEducation & employability ·
Which credential young Keralites think actually moves a CV
Ranking of educational resources by perceived resume value.
Read the briefEducation & employability ·
Half now learn job skills on YouTube
Where industry-relevant skill acquisition actually happens for this cohort.
Read the briefEducation & employability ·
The syllabus, not the student, is where blame lands
Respondents name an outdated theoretical curriculum as the single biggest flaw.
Read the briefEducation & employability ·
Only a quarter believe their degree makes them job-ready
The gap between credential and employability, in the cohort's own assessment.
Read the briefCross-cutting analysis ·
22.3% escape into scrolling when stress peaks
The same feed named as the biggest daily disruption is also the primary coping tool for one in five.
Read the briefDigital wellbeing ·
Only 1.8% turn to professional counselling under severe stress
Seven respondents in 399 would see a counsellor first; 167 would withdraw.
Read the briefDigital wellbeing ·
48.6% feel career anxiety or panic frequently or almost daily
Episodic distress is the norm, not the exception, in this cohort.
Read the briefDigital wellbeing ·
46.1% face sleep difficulty at least a few times a week
Sleep is under pressure for close to half the cohort — and untouched for 13%.
Read the briefDigital wellbeing ·
86.2% of young Keralites are on their phone three hours or more a day
Daily smartphone use clusters in the three-to-six hour band, and the disruption respondents name is not messaging — it is the recommendation feed.
Read the brief
Publication calendar
The full topic pipeline is published in advance so readers, reviewers and journalists can see exactly which question is analysed on which date. Titles state the direction of the finding; the final figure is confirmed against the response sheet on the day of publication.
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