Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Repeat: Why India’s Social Media Obsession Seems To Have No End

I have a complicated relationship with social media. I hate cringe content - the lip-sync reels, over-the-top couple skits, random “influencers” reviewing lipsticks with oohs and aahs that deserve an Oscar. And yet, night after night, I find myself scrolling through Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts, clocking an embarrassing four to five hours. Some of it is for work (or so I tell myself), keeping up with trends, tracking what brands are doing, but most of it is pure, brain-numbing indulgence. I don’t even know when it happens. I open my phone to 'just check something', and suddenly it’s midnight, and I’m deep in a rabbit hole of wedding dance videos and dog-and-cat reels (no regrets there).It turns out, I’m not alone. According to the Global

Digital Report 2025, with 806 million individuals (55.3% of the total population) already online, India’s internet ecosystem grew at a rate of 6.5% over the past year. Likewise, India’s internet penetration is steadily rising, up 5.5% from 2024 levels.

That’s nearly half the country posting, liking, and scrolling every single day. So, clearly, my late-night reel marathons aren’t as rare (or shameful) as I’d like to believe. However, even as parts of the world (largely the West) try to limit social media consumption and even mull restrictions on certain apps, why is India's growth story still showing an upward trend? As per reports, Indians spend an average of 2 hours and 28 minutes per day on social media. This is higher than what our US counterparts clock in (2 hours and 9 minutes per day). And it also surpasses Europe's average of 1 hour 48 minutes.What is it about social media that has ticked off some people, but certainly not Indians?

We Have Everything For Everyone, And Then Some

Part of this explosion is purely infrastructural. According to the same report, 96% of Indians access the internet via mobile phones, making it one of the largest mobile-first digital communities in the world.

Over the last decade, cheap smartphones and ultra-affordable data plans—thanks largely to Jio’s disruption — have turned India into the world’s most mobile-first nation. We are now clocking 6 hours and 49 minutes of internet usage per day for Indians, up 5 minutes (+1.2%) over last year. You can now stream an entire cricket match or a three-hour Bollywood film on a ₹249-a-month plan. When entertainment is this accessible, and in your own language, why wouldn’t you watch? Social media platforms have also become multilingual — from Tamil memes to Bhojpuri dance videos, Punjabi cooking vlogs to Bengali beauty tutorials, there’s something for everyone. And once the algorithms understand what makes you linger, they serve it up endlessly, like a buffet you can’t walk away from.

Aspirational Audience With The Right Access

Social media in India thrives on aspiration. It’s where everyone, people like you and me, goes to dream, perform, and sometimes even pretend. There’s a dopamine rush in being seen, even if it’s just through a blurry café photo or a trending lip-sync. In a country where opportunities and validation can feel scarce, social media offers an equal stage.

Anyone with a phone can become an entertainer, critic, commentator, or celebrity. You can go viral from a village in Bihar or a college hostel in Bengaluru. The barrier to entry is so low, and the promise of fame so tantalising, that millions of Indians are chasing their few seconds in the spotlight every day.And this fame can come from any corner. Whether it’s someone spending hours perfecting a 10-second dance reel on “Tauba Tauba” or a small-town Blinkit delivery boy doing a GRWM for thousands of followers—India is betting big on binge-watching, both as creators and consumers.

The Emotional Angle

This is the stuff no data set can fully explain. What we consider as cringe content, as much as we love to mock it, is built on very human instincts: curiosity, voyeurism. You watch because you’re embarrassed for someone else, but also fascinated by their audacity. It’s a spectacle that’s both awful and addictive. Even when you roll your eyes and mutter 'what is this nonsense?', you’ve already given it what it wanted most: your attention. And that attention fuels the algorithm, which rewards the very content you claimed to hate.

That said, it’s true that the West is growing weary of cookie-cutter, AI-generated content. The same reels over and over just don’t cut it anymore. Overstimulation from constant screen time is taking its toll. I’ve spoken to people who’ve migrated from Instagram to Reddit because the latter fosters more organic, genuine conversations - not endless dance reels you’re still getting because you liked one, a million years ago.Among the countries moving towards more control on social media is Australia, which was the first to implement a world-first national youth social media ban. It was introduced as an answer to a growing mental health crisis. In India, however, with internet penetration and network access pushing social media deeper into rural areas, our digital story is still in its early chapters. While we remain glued to our screens, an undercurrent is forming - one that demands quality content. India’s social media story may soon evolve from growth in numbers to growth in taste. As audiences mature, so will the content. We’re already seeing creators shift from empty virality to “edutainment” - snackable, smart, and still shareable.

Beyond Entertainment

India is also emerging as a massive market for industries that thrive on digital infrastructure. Social media isn’t just entertainment anymore — it’s a necessity. It’s how we find stories, follow the news, and even discover destinations. It’s how businesses market themselves and how people measure relevance.According to Statista, India’s social media user base is projected to swell by 445 million new users by 2029, with one in every four new users globally expected to come from India. As long as social media remains the way we shop, learn, and communicate, its growth here is inevitable.