The tragic incident in Ghaziabad, where three sisters chose to end their lives together, has jolted the nation. But this is more than a crime story.

It is a stark reflection of structural blind spots in how we understand childhood, mental health, digital engagement, and emotional support systems in contemporary India.

What appears on the surface as an online influence or social media identity issue must be read as a deeper societal unraveling: a failure of empathy, preparedness, and psychological infrastructure.

Connectivity Without Emotional Safety Nets

Today’s children inhabit a world unlike any before. As per Common Sense Media and several global health studies, young adolescents spend between 3 to 7 hours daily on screens, with a large portion dedicated to social media use.

In India, surveys suggest that more than 65% of teens feel anxious if they can’t access their phones, while over 50% report disrupted sleep due to late-night usage. (Sources: Pew Research Centre, Common Sense Media)
While screens provide connection and learning, excessive mobile phone and social media use has been linked in multiple peer-reviewed studies to increased rates of anxiety, depression, attention problems, and lower self-esteem.

The World Health Organization recognises that “problematic use of digital technology can worsen mental health outcomes in adolescents, especially lacking supportive offline environments.”

What is often missing in these discussions is that digital engagement can be both compelling and emotionally destabilising, not because technology is inherently bad, but because children often lack the emotional tools to navigate the fast-paced world of online validation, comparison, and performative identity.

Children, Identity, and the Emptiness of Digital Validation

For adolescents, social media frequently becomes more than a platform, it becomes a stage, a measure of self-worth, and in some cases, a source of stress. When attention turns into a quantified score , likes, shares, followers, it begins to shape self-perception. Young brains are still developing, particularly the prefrontal cortex responsible for emotional regulation and impulse control.

Constant comparison, fear of missing out (FOMO), and algorithmic reinforcement of attention loops can create psychological strain that parents and educators struggle to perceive.

Statistics mirror this concern. A meta-analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics found that adolescents who spend more than three hours per day on electronic media are at a significantly higher risk for mental health problems, including emotional distress and behavioural issues.

In India, where smartphone penetration has crossed 54% nationwide, digital influence on young identities is no longer peripheral, it is central. This points to not just addiction to screens but to an emotional dependency on digital affirmation, a phenomenon our policy frameworks have not yet meaningfully addressed.

Family Dynamics and the Silence Around Emotional Struggle

Families remain the first emotional environment for a child. Yet many parents, despite their love and concern, lack the frameworks to understand digital immersion and emotional distress as more than superficial habits or teenage mood swings.

Communication gaps widen when emotional discussions are either dismissed as normal adolescent turbulence or overwhelm parents who lack training in mental health literacy.

In households where emotional expression is not normalised, children may shut down silently, which can become dangerous when compounded by external pressures.

Gaps in Policy and Preparedness

India’s mental health infrastructure, while improving on paper, remains insufficient in practice. The World Health Organization estimates that India has less than one mental health professional per 100,000 population, far below global averages.

Even where school counselling exists, the number of trained professionals is limited, and access is uneven. In addition, digital safety policies emphasise cyberbullying and data privacy, but rarely address emotional well-being in digital spaces.

There is a stark absence of structured emotional education that teaches children, parents, and educators how to navigate digital stress, peer comparison, or identity challenges.

Are We Ready? A Sobering Answer

The honest truth is that society is not yet equipped to handle this challenge comprehensively. We have invested rapidly in digital connectivity, but much more slowly in emotional infrastructure. We have adopted screens, but not yet adopted the language of emotional intelligence at scale.

We celebrate connectivity but too often overlook connection, the deep, human, offline support systems that sustain psychological resilience.

Logical Take | The Heart of the Matter

The Ghaziabad tragedy is not an isolated event. It is a signal of systemic vulnerability, a confluence of digital influence without context, emotional distress without support, and silence where conversation should flourish. If children today feel unheard in a hyper-connected world, that is not irony, that is a societal failure.

Progress measured only in connectivity rates, smartphone adoption, or screen time metrics is incomplete. Real progress must include emotional resilience, well-resourced support systems, empathetic family and community environments, and policies that treat mental health as foundational, not optional.

The path ahead demands integrated thinking, one that recognises technology’s role but anchors it in humanity’s emotional architecture.

If India truly aspires to be a country that nurtures its youth into confident, creative, and resilient citizens, then building emotional, psychological, and digital safety frameworks must be as urgent as building highways and networks. Because at the end of the day, connectivity without care is connection without compassion.

Editor’s Note: This article is part of The Logical Take, a commentary section of The Logical Indian. The views expressed are based on research, constitutional values, and the author’s analysis of publicly reported events. They are intended to encourage informed public discourse and do not seek to target or malign any community, institution, or individual.

Also Read: Logical Take: Why Loneliness Is Becoming India’s Quiet Urban Epidemic