How devices and social media are shaping new OCD impacts on young people in India Premium

Explore how technology and social media influence OCD in Indian youth, shaping rituals and impacting daily life and mental health.

Ananya (name changed), a 19-year-old college student in Karnataka, begins her day the way many students do: phone alarm, hurried tea, a quick scan of messages. But then the spiral starts. She checks her backpack again and again - ID card, hall ticket, wallet - each time certain she has missed something. On the bus, a thought flashes: What if I said something offensive in that class group? She scrolls through old chats, screenshots her messages “for proof,” deletes and retypes harmless sentences, and spends the rest of the ride replaying conversations in her head.

By the time she reaches campus, she is exhausted - before classes have even begun.

This is not perfectionism or “overthinking.” It is what obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can look like in young people today: not just the classic handwashing and lock-checking, but also newer, technology-shaped rituals - re-reading, screenshotting, repeated online reassurance-seeking, compulsive checking of notifications, and relentless mental reviewing.

OCD often begins early. Many people first develop symptoms in their teens or early adulthood - precisely the years when academic demands, identity formation, and social pressures peak. In India, the context adds its own accelerants: high-stakes examinations, crowded living arrangements, rapid urbanisation, stigma around mental illness, and family systems that (with good intentions) may unknowingly reinforce symptoms.

At a population level, OCD is not rare. The Government of India’s National Mental Health Survey (2015-16) reported OCD prevalence at 0.8% among adults. While this percentage may appear small, it translates into a very large number of Indians living with the condition. And the same survey highlighted a sobering reality: across mental disorders, treatment gaps are enormous (often 70%-92%), meaning most people who need care do not receive it on time.

When OCD starts in school or college and remains untreated, it can quietly derail education, relationships, and confidence. Young people may not drop out dramatically; instead, they may keep functioning - while losing hours each day to rituals that no one sees.