A survey conducted of 280,000 children between the ages of 11 to 15 from 44 countries by the Health Behaviour in School Aged Children (HBSC) found that there has been a rise in problematic social media use among children. The survey shows that 11% of young people were involved in problematic social media use in 2022, up from 7% in 2018..
The study says that there should be an urgent response to the use of digital media and the mental well being of children in Europe. There should be more regulations for promoting healthy online behaviors. Children aged 13 often use social media in inappropriate ways. This is because they are newly entering adolescence and often become addicted to social networks, leading to inappropriate behaviors. Girls, on the other hand, are more likely to report problematic behavior on social media.
The research also showed how much time young people spend online. A third of adolescents in the survey are spending the majority of their time contacting their friends and others on social media. The adolescents who are using social media frequently but not problematic social media are using it because of social connections and peer support.
Many children categorized as problematic social media users exhibit negative symptoms such as neglecting other activities, arguing, lying about their online time, and struggling to control their social media use. Problematic gaming is also higher among boys than girls. 46% of the boys surveyed played games daily, with 52% in England and 57% in Scotland. This study has been published in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO) and asks world leaders to provide digital literacy education to teenagers.
Image: DIW-Aigen
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The study says that there should be an urgent response to the use of digital media and the mental well being of children in Europe. There should be more regulations for promoting healthy online behaviors. Children aged 13 often use social media in inappropriate ways. This is because they are newly entering adolescence and often become addicted to social networks, leading to inappropriate behaviors. Girls, on the other hand, are more likely to report problematic behavior on social media.
The research also showed how much time young people spend online. A third of adolescents in the survey are spending the majority of their time contacting their friends and others on social media. The adolescents who are using social media frequently but not problematic social media are using it because of social connections and peer support.
Many children categorized as problematic social media users exhibit negative symptoms such as neglecting other activities, arguing, lying about their online time, and struggling to control their social media use. Problematic gaming is also higher among boys than girls. 46% of the boys surveyed played games daily, with 52% in England and 57% in Scotland. This study has been published in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO) and asks world leaders to provide digital literacy education to teenagers.
Read next:
• OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman Confirms AI Won't Replace Human Writers Anytime Soon
• Is Your Data Safe? Discover the Social Media Apps You Should Avoid!
