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A groundbreaking new examine of younger individuals’s digital media use has revealed shocking outcomes, together with proof that smartphone possession may very well profit kids.
The examine additionally suggests a hyperlink between social media posting and numerous damaging outcomes, in addition to knowledge connecting cyberbullying to despair, anger and indicators of dependence on digital media.
The Life in Media Survey, led by a staff of researchers on the College of South Florida in collaboration with The Harris Ballot, performed a survey of greater than 1,500 11-to-13-year-olds in Florida. The findings will inform a 25-year nationwide examine that can observe younger individuals’s digital media use and well-being into maturity.
Key findings
Youngsters who’ve their very own smartphones fared higher than children who do not on almost each measure of well-being assessed. Children with smartphones had been much less more likely to report despair and anxiousness signs, and extra more likely to spend time in-person with pals and report feeling good about themselves than children who do not have their very own smartphones.
Efforts to restrict digital media use amongst children do not look like working, as greater than 70% of 11-year-olds surveyed have their very own smartphone, with many buying them by the age of eight and a half.
Posting publicly to social media was related to a number of harms. Youngsters who typically submit to social media platforms had been twice as doubtless than those that by no means or hardly ever submit to report reasonable or extreme signs of despair, reasonable or extreme signs of hysteria and having sleep points.
Even the smallest quantity of cyberbullying—being known as a imply or hurtful title on-line—is related to antagonistic outcomes.
Almost six in 10 respondents stated they endured a type of cyberbullying previously three months. These kids had been extra doubtless than those that weren’t bullied to report feeling depressed most days previously yr, getting offended and dropping their mood and discovering it arduous to cease utilizing expertise.
The proportion of children surveyed who’ve their very own smartphone, from preliminary findings from the USF Life in Media examine. Credit score: USF
The proportion of underage children surveyed who’ve their very own social media accounts, from preliminary findings of the USF Life in Media examine. Credit score: USF
“We went into this study expecting to find what many researchers, teachers and other observers assume: smartphone ownership is harmful to children. Not only was that not the case, most of the time we found the opposite—that owning a smartphone was associated with positive outcomes,” stated Justin D. Martin, lead researcher on the mission and the Eleanor Poynter Jamison Chair in Media Ethics and Press Coverage as USF.
Based mostly on the findings, the analysis staff supplies a number of suggestions:
Permitting kids as younger as 11 to have their very own smartphone is probably going fantastic and could also be helpful. Dad and mom ought to discourage younger kids from posting publicly on social platforms.
Dad and mom also needs to be on alert for the slightest indicators of cyberbullying, which is prevalent and dangerous. Do not let children sleep with their smartphones. One in 4 children surveyed sleep with a smartphone of their hand or in mattress. Youngsters who hold their telephones of their mattress do not get sufficient sleep in comparison with those that sleep with telephones in one other room.
“Our findings indicate that the effects of smartphone ownership are complex. It’s what kids do with cell phones and challenges in regulating their device use, rather than merely owning a smartphone, that may cause difficulties or inversely benefit their lives,” stated Wendy Rote, USF affiliate professor of psychology.
Children reporting sleeping issues associated to smartphone use, from preliminary findings of the USF Life in Media examine. Credit score: USF
Knowledgeable by this survey, the analysis staff will now put together to start out a nationwide, long-term examine of some 8,000 kids in early adolescence.
The Life in Media Survey is the primary lifespan examine of its sort analyzing digital media use. It units out to trace individuals from youth to maturity to be taught extra concerning the long-term well being and wellness impacts of smartphones, social media and different digital media and gadgets.
Analysis shall be performed over the subsequent 25 years, and knowledge collected each six months will give ongoing perception to folks, academics, researchers, well being suppliers and others on the influence of digital media use on kids and as they age into adults.
“Our data provide a snapshot of how the media influences young people in the moment. But many of the problems and benefits of media use accumulate over time, which is why it is essential to also conduct a long-term study to accurately assess the effects of digital media on well-being through an individual’s life,” stated Stephen Music, co-principal investigator and USF assistant professor of journalism.
The proportion of children who be ok with themselves based mostly on machine possession, from preliminary findings of the USF Life in Media examine. Credit score: USF
Researchers hope to find out how digital media impacts and adjustments attitudes, behaviors and well being all through individuals’s lives. For instance, over time, the Life in Media Survey will be capable of present specifics concerning the influence of six-second movies on creating brains, the consequences of gazing screens for 5 hours a day on eyesight and the way on-line socialization in childhood impacts sociability at age 30.
The survey was performed by The Harris Ballot, a worldwide market analysis agency that additionally collaborated with the USF staff in establishing the questionnaire and analyzing the information. All knowledge was collected from Nov. 12–Dec. 9, 2024, by way of on-line surveys and obtained with parental permission.
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Examine suggests smartphones could profit children, however public social media use poses dangers (2025, March 25)
retrieved 25 March 2025
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