India, June 9 -- The student-led study conducted by communications firm 80dB, suggests the real divide is not whether young people are online, but how adults and teens interpret the same digital habits. The survey, titled More Than Screen Time: What Gen Z and Gen Alpha Wish Adults Understood, covered 130 young people aged 13-16 and more than 100 parents in Gurugram.

It found that 93 per cent of young respondents use online platforms to talk to friends, while 82 per cent said adults assume they are wasting time online. Nearly 8 in 10 parents said they were concerned about their child's screen use, and 65 per cent believed children online are mostly distracted by reels, shorts and chatting.

The findings push back against the familiar ster...