Teenagers are aware of the effects of social media and create their own exit routes: study

Contrary to popular belief, teenagers are aware of the impact of social media on their daily lives and are taking steps to reduce their use. An American study showed that while bad online experiences are the main reason for self-regulation, adolescents are also attentive to the impacts on their schooling.

Far from the image often associated with young people, adolescents are much more aware of the effects of social networks than we would sometimes like to believe. Recent research conducted by Rutgers University in New Brunswick among 20 young people aged 13 to 16 in the United States and Canada found that adolescents are more aware and active in managing their potential media addiction social than one might otherwise think.

The researchers focused on three different angles, based on the age of the participants: whether teens voluntarily stopped using social media apps, the methods they used to reduce their use, and their motivations for stopping. to use them.

The study looked at the “frictions” – or moments of intentional pause – that young people use to limit their screen time on social media. Social media platforms are designed to be “frictionless”, that is, to avoid disrupting user activity and capture their attention at all times. However, teens surveyed made minimal adjustments to introduce friction, like turning off notifications or limiting usage time, to control their time online.

According to researcher Nikhila Natarajan, teens are increasingly aware of the negative effects of social media on their mental and physical health. This awareness coincides with the platforms’ efforts to better manage screen use. “It is rarely a single experience, but more often a set of interconnected experiences, both online and offline, that lead teens to think more deeply about the effects of social media and take steps to self-regulate their use,” Natarajan said in a press release. “Participants’ responses highlight that they are constantly thinking about how their social media experiences cause physical and emotional discomfort. Across all four age groups from 13 to 16, teens highlighted negative experiences that they felt changed their social media behaviors.”

The taken procedures

Most of the teens surveyed in the study said they log on to social media out of boredom or to pass the time. However, more and more people are taking steps to reduce their use of social media and thinking about the effects it has on their well-being. Some said they turned to their parents to help them better control their smartphone use. The study reports the testimony of Sonya, a 14-year-old girl. After spending 18 hours on TikTok, the teenager decided to take action for her physical and mental well-being. A few days before the study began, Sonya decided to ask her father to set a code to lock her phone screen, a way to limit her screen time in a drastic but intentional way. “I asked my dad to set it up. Well, not to set it up, but I set it up, and it just created a password so I couldn't override the time limit,” she says.

Others are more attentive to family time, such as dinner time, especially if parents ask their children to put down their phones.

But the options offered by the devices themselves are proving useful for increasingly wellness-conscious teens. Automatic reminders or calendars help young people organize their time, especially when it comes to doing homework.

Extracurricular activities can also help reduce smartphone use. Keith, 16, says he blocks notifications on his phone during sports training sessions so he won't be disturbed.

Surprisingly, social media can also be a source of change. Some teens have reported changing their behavior after seeing a trend on social media promoting a healthier lifestyle.

Potential impacts on their future

Adolescents are aware of the impact that excessive use of social networks can have on their future, and primarily on their studies, which is more serious than stereotypes. “For many participants, including younger ones, the question “why?” » was not so much about the reasons that push them to stop using social networks as it was about the reasons that push them to refrain from going there. So they stop before they can't get there anymore. » Each of the 14-year-olds gave completely different reasons. 15-year-olds are hyper-aware that if they log into their favorite social media app, they may not be able to escape in time to do anything else. For 16-year-olds, impending college entry is usually the first concern, as freshman grades are a critical part of the college admissions process. 16-year-olds noted that their use of social media changed due to advice from their mentors at school,” the study reads.

Still, even as teens use the features available on their smartphones and social media, the study highlights that it's important for these companies to improve to better meet teens' needs. The work is far from finished. – AFP Relaxnews