What if it’s social media, and not telephone screens, that are harmful to youths?
That’s what an American study of 1,500 children between the ages of 11 and 13 suggests. Or, more accurately, the first stage of a long-term study: the intention of Professor Justin Martin, of the journalism and digital communication department of the University of South Florida, was to follow-up with 8,000 youths over 25 years, to explore the link between the use of digital tools and overall well-being.
According to the first phase of this study, 78 % of 1,510 children reported having a smart phone. And among them, 21% reported symptoms of depression or anxiety. These percentages prove no correlation, as among those with no phone at all, 26% reported these same symptoms.
On top of that, children with a phone spent more time in person with friends, than those without a phone, which would seem to contradict fears of a negative impact of screens on interpersonal relationships. Differences in wealth of parents also seemed not to be a factor.
One thing that surprised researchers was that kids who said they often wrote on social media were twice as susceptible to depression or anxiety symptoms than others: 54% to 25%.
The study didn’t conclude that there is a link between greater use of social media and heightened mental health issues. It simply compared those who “often” wrote on social media and those who “rarely” wrote, or not at all.
Nonetheless, commented Justin Martin in The New Scientist magazine, these preliminary results add to the alarm signals of these last few years: “We recommend that parents and adults think about keeping their children away from social media platforms on which they can frequently write.”
In his opinion, it’s the only recommendation that makes sense – considering that it would be difficult to tell a kid “You can go on Instagram, but you can’t post on it.”
More on the topic:
Le numérique et la santé mentale des jeunes, 11 mars 2020
Désinformation chez les jeunes : que faut-il leur apprendre, 20 décembre 2023
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