Social media usage among adolescents is a hot button issue because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up harming them in unpredictable ways. A recent study published in Sleep Health revealed that the use of social media among teenagers might be leading to sleep deprivation which can cause a multitude of other negative effects.
Lack of sleep can harm mental as well as physical health, and social media may be making it harder for teens to get a good night’s rest than might have been the case otherwise. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this study analyzed adolescents from eighteen countries across Europe and North America, so the findings are fairly conclusive.
Between 30% and 70% of the adolescents who were studied in both continents were getting inadequate levels of sleep each night. The use of electronics is decreasing sleep time, and it is also leading to a lower quality of sleep. This fatal combination can be highly dangerous due to the long term effects that it could entail with all things having been considered and taken into account.
Another factor at play here is that of social jet lag. This is when teenagers have a different schedule for weekdays, wherein they wake up earlier, than on weekends, where they might sleep in to catch up on rest. This inconsistency in their sleep schedule can create complications in their health, and it is largely the fault of social media where addictive scrolling and algorithms can keep teens up at night.
Intense social media usage was shown to deprive teens of 22 minutes of sleep per night in Latvia. The numbers vary from country to country, but excessive social media scrolling is definitely making it harder for teens to get the rest they need. However, some are saying that these numbers are skewed by the recent pandemic. If the trend persists, steps might need to be taken in order to curb how social media robs teens of rest each and every night.
Read next: Top Google Exec Warns About Unfair Distribution of AI Tools Across Economic Spectrum
Lack of sleep can harm mental as well as physical health, and social media may be making it harder for teens to get a good night’s rest than might have been the case otherwise. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this study analyzed adolescents from eighteen countries across Europe and North America, so the findings are fairly conclusive.
Between 30% and 70% of the adolescents who were studied in both continents were getting inadequate levels of sleep each night. The use of electronics is decreasing sleep time, and it is also leading to a lower quality of sleep. This fatal combination can be highly dangerous due to the long term effects that it could entail with all things having been considered and taken into account.
Another factor at play here is that of social jet lag. This is when teenagers have a different schedule for weekdays, wherein they wake up earlier, than on weekends, where they might sleep in to catch up on rest. This inconsistency in their sleep schedule can create complications in their health, and it is largely the fault of social media where addictive scrolling and algorithms can keep teens up at night.
Intense social media usage was shown to deprive teens of 22 minutes of sleep per night in Latvia. The numbers vary from country to country, but excessive social media scrolling is definitely making it harder for teens to get the rest they need. However, some are saying that these numbers are skewed by the recent pandemic. If the trend persists, steps might need to be taken in order to curb how social media robs teens of rest each and every night.
Read next: Top Google Exec Warns About Unfair Distribution of AI Tools Across Economic Spectrum
