Who Hijacked India’s Mindspace?

The smartphone has not merely replaced newspapers and television; it has transformed how Indians think, read, interact, and remember. Once, mornings began with newspapers and evenings united families around television screens, creating shared conversations and collective experiences. Today, billions of scrolling thumbs have replaced deep reading with instant consumption.

With over 800 million smartphone users, India’s attention economy now runs on reels, viral clips, and algorithm-driven outrage. Traditional newspapers struggle to survive, while television loses viewers to endless digital content. Algorithms feed users only what excites, angers, or entertains them, shrinking attention spans and weakening thoughtful reflection.

The result is a society flooded with information but starved of wisdom. Families sit together yet live in separate digital worlds. The smartphone has become the new emperor of attention, raising an unsettling question: are humans controlling screens, or are screens controlling humans?