Morung Express News
Dimapur | January 17
Males in the age group of 14-18 years in rural India, as well as Nagaland, are more likely to own smartphones compared to their female counterparts in rural India and Nagaland, highlighted by the latest ASER survey released on January 17.
However, the national ratio is much higher than that of Nagaland.
The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023 'Beyond Basics,' reflected that a total of 32.9% in the 14-18 years age group who can use a smartphone own one in Nagaland.
The report also highlighted that among teen boys, 41.6% of those who could use a smartphone possess one, compared to the female ratio of 25.5%.
Nationally, 31.1% of those who could use a smartphone own one, but male ownership is more than twice that of females, at 43.7% and 19.8%, respectively.
Meanwhile, the report informed that the youth in the 14-18 years cohort who can use smartphones is much higher in Nagaland, at 97.3%, against the national average of 92.1%.
Out of these, 94.5% had a smartphone at home in Nagaland, compared with 92.1% across India.
However, the report suggests that most youth use their smartphones for browsing social media platforms rather than other educational activities, with 90.5% of surveyed youth reporting its usage in the reference week across India. It was 93.4% for Nagaland.
Despite the high usage of social media, nearly half of the youth in both Nagaland and India were not familiar with online safety, the report said.
For instance, out of total users, only 52.3% nationally can 'Block/report a profile' in India, while it was lower in Nagaland at 50.9%.
Again, only 51% of social media users in Nagaland reported knowing how to make a 'profile private.' It was lower nationally at 47.8%.
A total of 63.6% of social media users in Nagaland also reported knowing how to change a password, against the all-India level of 52.2%.
More tech-savvy Nagaland?
The report further noted that out of the total smartphone users, a total of 66.1% in India and 69.3% in Nagaland used it for some education-related activity in the reference week.
A total of 67.1% in India and 77.7% in Nagaland can use a smartphone to do digital tasks, while 81.6% and 86.9%, respectively, could find a specific video on YouTube.
The browse of the internet for information stood at 77.9% and 70.9%, respectively, for Nagaland and India. However, in the task of setting an alarm and using Google Maps, the national average (66.4% & 48.2%) were higher than Nagaland (60.1% & 12.5%).
The ASER 2023 report, led by Pratham Foundation, an education-focused non-profit organization, focuses on youth aged 14 to 18 years in rural India by surveying 34,745 youth enrolled in both government and private institutes in 28 districts across 26 states.
In Nagaland, the ASER 2023 survey was conducted in Kohima by volunteers from the Department of Education and Department of Teacher Education, Nagaland University Meriema Campus, and also from Kohima Science College, Jotsoma.
The analysis in Nagaland (Kohima) was based on data from 590 youths in 508 households in 60 villages.
