The relationship of teenagers with screens and technology has always been questionable as thousands of researches and parents complain that it is destroying the mental well being of their children. But all such speculations will now be put to rest as a research team from University of Oxford is here to prove that the invention of social media actually had no to probably “tiny” effect on a teenager’s life satisfaction.
The study presents the often ignored fact that friends, family and school life still plays a very integral role when it comes to the overall well being of any adolescence in UK. It answers the concerned topic in much more depth. So, if anyone wants to find out whether the teenagers who use social media more than average have lower life satisfaction or adolescents who already suffer with lower life satisfaction use more social media, this research holds all the facts that you need.
In fact, the study is ready to challenge all the irrational claims made in the past and have also urged companies to release data regarding how people use the social media today.
Prof Andrew Przybylski and Amy Orben, from the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, stated that after thoroughly analyzing the link between life satisfaction and social media, the conclusion showed that less than 1% of a teenager's wellbeing were affected by social media and that was also "not a one-way street". According to them 99.75% of a person's life satisfaction had nothing to do with their use of social media.
The research team asked thousands of 10-15 year olds, in between the years of 2009 to 2017, about how much time did they spend on social media on a normal school day and how satisfied were they from their life, overall? Although the results showed that girls spent more time on social media as compared to boys, still none of them claimed to have a big impact on their mental health.
Parents should stop worrying about their children using social media or how much time do they spend on front of screens. However, it is now important to identify young people who are at a greater risk of negative impact of social media and what factors are contributing towards it.
The next focus of the similar research would include a detailed discussion with social media companies about how can they obtain more data related to the ways people are using apps and not the time spent on them.
Since access is the key to a better understanding of the role social media is playing in our lives, Dr Max Davie, officer for health improvement at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health also called it a “first small step” towards a major change.
But yes screen time does matter when someone is about to sleep, go for exercise or when spending time with the family as one should be all by himself in these activities in order to ensure there is actually no effect on overall health as well.
Read next: What Makes Us Addicted to Social Media: The Psychology Behind Dependence (Infographic)
The study presents the often ignored fact that friends, family and school life still plays a very integral role when it comes to the overall well being of any adolescence in UK. It answers the concerned topic in much more depth. So, if anyone wants to find out whether the teenagers who use social media more than average have lower life satisfaction or adolescents who already suffer with lower life satisfaction use more social media, this research holds all the facts that you need.
In fact, the study is ready to challenge all the irrational claims made in the past and have also urged companies to release data regarding how people use the social media today.
Prof Andrew Przybylski and Amy Orben, from the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, stated that after thoroughly analyzing the link between life satisfaction and social media, the conclusion showed that less than 1% of a teenager's wellbeing were affected by social media and that was also "not a one-way street". According to them 99.75% of a person's life satisfaction had nothing to do with their use of social media.
The research team asked thousands of 10-15 year olds, in between the years of 2009 to 2017, about how much time did they spend on social media on a normal school day and how satisfied were they from their life, overall? Although the results showed that girls spent more time on social media as compared to boys, still none of them claimed to have a big impact on their mental health.
Parents should stop worrying about their children using social media or how much time do they spend on front of screens. However, it is now important to identify young people who are at a greater risk of negative impact of social media and what factors are contributing towards it.
The next focus of the similar research would include a detailed discussion with social media companies about how can they obtain more data related to the ways people are using apps and not the time spent on them.
Since access is the key to a better understanding of the role social media is playing in our lives, Dr Max Davie, officer for health improvement at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health also called it a “first small step” towards a major change.
But yes screen time does matter when someone is about to sleep, go for exercise or when spending time with the family as one should be all by himself in these activities in order to ensure there is actually no effect on overall health as well.
Read next: What Makes Us Addicted to Social Media: The Psychology Behind Dependence (Infographic)
