In a contrast that girls often lead boys in academic success, they face a digital divide in rural areas. A 2024 survey by a non-government organisation reveals that boys enjoy greater smartphone accessibility, with 90.2% owning smartphones compared to 88.1% of girls aged 14-16. Even more striking is the usage pattern. Only 70% of boys utilise their smartphones for digital tasks, while the rest are engrossed in social media and entertainment. Among the 88.1% of girls with access, merely 62% use their devices for productive digital work. In Madhya Pradesh, 58.4% of adolescents were able to bring a smartphone for digital tasks.

 

 

These tasks included setting an alarm, finding and sharing a video via WhatsApp or Telegram, and browsing for information. Yet, only 71.5% of adolescent youngsters in rural Madhya Pradesh aged 14-16 successfully completed these tasks, compared to 76.9% across rural India. This survey highlights a critical digital skills gap and underscores the need for improved access and education to empower adolescents in rural areas. The ability to browse for specific information saw a slight improvement, with 80.8% of 14-16-year-olds in Madhya Pradesh achieving the task, barely ahead of the 79.3% national average. When the teens in the same age bracket were tasked with finding and sharing a specific video, 85% in rural Madhya Pradesh succeeded, falling short compared to 90.5% of their counterparts nationwide. Impressively, 92.1% of those who found the video successfully shared it.

 

The survey suggest that in rural areas, as far as smarphone availability is considered boys are lucky over girls. In 2024, the percentage of boys who have access to smart phones at homes is 90.2 % while that of girls is 88.1. This is the case with rural areas of country. As far as working with smartphones is concerned only 70 per cent boys use their smartphones to do digital work, rest use it only for social connection and entertainment. out of 88.1 % girls, Only 62% uses their smartphones to do digital work. If we talk about State’s report card in primary education, it shines as the survey report by an non-government organisaion suggest that there is continue surge in number of children (3-4 age bracket) to get enrollement in Anganwadis. The survey is conducted by Pratham Education Foundation, an non-government organisations aiming to improve the quality of education in India. Established in 1995 to provide education to children in the slums of Mumbai, Pratham has grown in both scope and scale, with programs today reaching children and youth across the country, as per the statment. As far as basic digital skills are concern, 80.8% of rural 14-16-year-olds able to do basic digital task on their mobile. Report suggest that in Madhya Pradesh, 58.4% adolescents could bring a smartphone to do the digital tasks. Each sampled adolescent who could bring a smartphone was asked to do three digital tasks: Task 1: Set an alarm Task 2: Browse for information 3: Find a video about a specific topic & share with a friend or family member using WhatsApp or Telegram Task. All 71.5% of rural 14-16-year-old tested could do the task. if we talk about country, at All India level: 76.9% could do the task as against 80.8% from rural background in Madhya Pradesh. 

 

 

Talking about survey methond, Programme Co-ordinator, Bhopal, Mahendra Yadav told ‘The Hitavada’ that 30 villages randomly selected in each district, Total 20 households randomly selected in each village and all children age 3-16 and 5-16 in household assessed. Sampling method has remained consistent over time. Overall it can be said that around 1500 villeges covered.