In Anantnag, 92 percent youth aged 14 to 18 years use smartphones for social media, 75 percent for education related activities: ASER

In Anantnag, 92 percent youth aged 14 to 18 years use smartphones for social media, 75 percent for education related activities: ASER

Riyaz Bhat

Srinagar, Jan 17 (KNO): In a survey conducted by Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), at least 75 percent youth aged 14 to 18 year in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district have done at least one education related activity in the week prior to the survey as compared to 92.7 percent who used any social media.

According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023 report accessed by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), “In Anantnag, 97.4 percent of youth had a smart phone at home.”

The report suggests that at least 98.1 percent youth were reported being able to use a smartphone; among males this proportion was 98.4 percent and among females it was 97.8 percent.

Of those who could use a smartphone, 63.2 percent males had their own smart phone as compared to 33.8 percent of their female counterparts.

“Among all those who could use a smartphone, 75.7 percent did at least one education related activity in the week prior to the survey as compared to 92.7 percent who used any social media,” it reads.

The report further states that a high proportion of youth used social media in the reference week, a far smaller proportion knew how to access its safety features like blocking a profile, making a profile private, etc.

“In Anantnag, 73.5 percent could bring a smartphone to do digital tasks and of these, 86.1 percent could do the task of setting an alarm, 93.2 percent could browse the internet to find information, 57.9 percent could use Google Maps and 94.8 percent could find a YouTube video. Across all digital tasks, males outperform females,” it reads.

Pertinently, ASER 2023 ‘Beyond Basics’ was released on Wednesday in New Delhi today—putting the spotlight on youth aged 14 to 18 years in rural India.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the ASER 2023 survey was conducted in Anantnag by volunteers from the Human Welfare Foundation—(KNO)