GUWAHATI, Aug 12 - As many as 73 per cent of Assam’s youths suffer loneliness, while 72 per cent admitted they wished to consult a psychiatrist, a new study by the magazine Jeevan reveals.
The survey was conducted in July this year with a sample of 7,178 individuals.
Seventy-eight per cent of those surveyed were under the age of 35. Sixty-eight per cent of the respondents were from rural and semi-urban areas. The percentage of women who participated in the suevey was 42. Forty-six per cent of the respondents were graduates.
Jeevan has been making various survey-based reports public in the last 12 years. The latest report is also available online at jeevanmagazine.com now.
Seventy-three per cent of the youths below the age 35 suffer from loneliness, and the loneliness data for all ages is 52 per cent and for women 62 per cent. A whopping 72 per cent admitted they wished to consult a psychiatrist. According to the study, 51 per cent people residing in the city and overall 54 per cent women wished for psychiatric consultations.
In another alarming fact, 62 cent of the under-35 youths confessed to consuming ‘injurious to health’ products. Twenty-one cent of the surveyed women, 40 per cent city residents and overall 33 per cent people consume such substances.
The survey showed interesting social media behaviour in Assam. Twenty-nine per cent of the people spend average five hours on social media daily, with ten per cent even spending eight or more hours. Another 50.2 per cent said they can’t live a day without Internet. A remarkable 71 per cent said the impact of social media on their lives had been good. Only six per cent admitted it was bad. The rest remained uncertain.
Twenty-eight per cent of those surveyed had 3,000 or more friends in Facebook. And how many of them are ‘friends in need’? Just five, revealed 34 per cent of those surveyed, and it was at the most ten for 40 per cent. For 6 per cent, none were ‘friend in need’!
The effect of Internet in the young people’s lives was best reflected in the fact that 83 per cent use search engines for knowing anything or a word meaning and only 5 per cent think of going to a library. Bedtime has also changed, with 38 per cent of those surveyed saying that they go to bed after 12 midnight and three per cent staying awake till four in the morning.
“The new age has brought about a new lifestyle, with Assam being no exception. Cultural changes and ever-updating tech-savvy tools have affected lifestyle and the same seems to be reflected in the survey conducted by the magazine,” Jeevan editor Suresh Ranjan Goduka said.
Twelve per cent of those surveyed have never been to a place of worship, while 67 per cent said they visit such places sometimes. Twenty-six per cent have never attempted a yoga position, while 12 per cent do it regularly. Given a choice of career and a love relation, only 25 per cent would choose love.