According to new research published in Computers in Human Behavior, teens from financially constrained households have reduced life satisfaction and spend more time on social media. However, their social media usage is not linked to poor well-being in them as compared to their wealthier peers. This study wanted to know the gaps between previous studies which only looked at the relationship between social media usage and the well-being of adolescents without considering their socioeconomic backgrounds.
The researchers analyzed data from 2009 to 2019 from the Understanding Society study which tracks households in the UK. The data included 23,155 adolescents and they were surveyed about their social media usage while their parents gave information about their financial situation. There were established criteria for material deprivation like the inability to afford warm coats, basic furniture, school trips, and household bills. The life satisfaction among them was measured through yearly surveys and teens talked an hour about their access to social media and how many hours they spent online during school days.
The results of the study showed that teens from deprived households were less likely to have social media access, with only 69% of them having social media access by age 11 as compared to 76% of their non-deprived peers. By age 18, this gap disappeared and trends from all backgrounds were on social media but poor teens were spending more time on social media than wealthier teens. All in all, lower life satisfaction was also seen with social media use but it did not affect poor teens that much. Even though there was already lower life satisfaction among deprived teens, the use of social media didn't make it worse and didn't affect their well-being.
Researchers also analyzed if simply having social media access instead of spending time on it also affected emotional well-being. Even though there was some weak study about having access to social media having a link to lower life satisfaction among deprived teens, any long-term data didn't back up that study. Poverty has a significant effect on the well-being of adolescents and whenever there are talks about social media’s impact on adolescents, material deprivation and other factors get overlooked.
The data used in the study was also not recent and even though social media isn't that harmful to poor teens, any conclusion is still not totally accurate. Even though the study has some limitations, the researchers say that this study challenges the effects of social media on youth overall. Policies should be made to address poverty, rather than blaming social media for well-being issues in adolescents.
Image: DIW-Aigen
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The researchers analyzed data from 2009 to 2019 from the Understanding Society study which tracks households in the UK. The data included 23,155 adolescents and they were surveyed about their social media usage while their parents gave information about their financial situation. There were established criteria for material deprivation like the inability to afford warm coats, basic furniture, school trips, and household bills. The life satisfaction among them was measured through yearly surveys and teens talked an hour about their access to social media and how many hours they spent online during school days.
The results of the study showed that teens from deprived households were less likely to have social media access, with only 69% of them having social media access by age 11 as compared to 76% of their non-deprived peers. By age 18, this gap disappeared and trends from all backgrounds were on social media but poor teens were spending more time on social media than wealthier teens. All in all, lower life satisfaction was also seen with social media use but it did not affect poor teens that much. Even though there was already lower life satisfaction among deprived teens, the use of social media didn't make it worse and didn't affect their well-being.
Researchers also analyzed if simply having social media access instead of spending time on it also affected emotional well-being. Even though there was some weak study about having access to social media having a link to lower life satisfaction among deprived teens, any long-term data didn't back up that study. Poverty has a significant effect on the well-being of adolescents and whenever there are talks about social media’s impact on adolescents, material deprivation and other factors get overlooked.
The data used in the study was also not recent and even though social media isn't that harmful to poor teens, any conclusion is still not totally accurate. Even though the study has some limitations, the researchers say that this study challenges the effects of social media on youth overall. Policies should be made to address poverty, rather than blaming social media for well-being issues in adolescents.
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