Getty ImagesSo-called “problematic” social media use among young people has increased dramatically since the outbreak of the pandemic, a large international study has shown.
The researchers came to this conclusion after surveying nearly 280,000 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds in 44 countries.
The Healthy Behaviours in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study found that in 2022, an average of 11% of respondents used social media in a problematic way, compared to 7% in 2018.
The figures for England, Scotland and Wales were all above average.
The report’s authors said the findings “raise urgent concerns about the impact of digital technologies on the mental health and wellbeing of young people in Europe”.
They said more action was needed to “promote healthy online behaviour”.
“Problematic use was most common among 13-year-olds, peaking in early adolescence, and girls were more likely than boys to report problematic social media use,” said Dr Joe Inchley, the study’s international coordinator, from the University of Glasgow.
She said the study also sheds light on the amount of time young people spend online.
“Throughout the study, we found that more than a third of teens said they were constantly connected to friends and others online,” she said.
“That means they spend nearly all of their time online connecting with friends and other people.”
The report does not conclude that time online is always harmful.
In contrast, adolescents who used social media heavily but without problems reported experiencing stronger peer support and social connections.
But for the “problem” minority, the study found that social media use was associated with addiction-like symptoms, including:
- Spending time on social media while neglecting other activities
- Frequent debate about the use of
- Lying about time online
- Unable to control social media use and experiencing withdrawal symptoms
The report also highlights concerns about the proportion of young people at risk of “problem gaming” – which the report suggests is more common among boys than girls.
This figure applies to 15% of teenagers in England – the second highest proportion of all the countries surveyed.
The average proportion of boys who play every day is 46%, but this figure is 52% in England and 57% in Scotland.
Boys aged 13 in England play the longest, with 45% of boys of this age saying they play games for at least four hours on a games day.
Positive and negative consequences
The study was published by the European branch of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Dr Hans-Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, said the findings clearly showed that social media had both positive and negative effects on young people.
He said more “digital literacy education” was needed to help young people develop healthy ways of using the internet, and that governments, health authorities, teachers and parents all had to play their part.
“It is clear that we need immediate and sustained action to help adolescents reverse the potentially harmful effects of social media use, which has been shown to lead to depression, bullying, anxiety and poor academic performance,” he said.
Ben Carter, professor of medical statistics at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, described the report as a “useful snapshot of the evidence.”
But he noted that it was difficult to agree on a definition of “problematic social media,” which made it challenging to collect relevant data.
Nonetheless, he said the study “makes a valid contribution to the evidence base.”
