A study of young people’s digital media use suggests smartphone ownership may actually benefit children – but also a link between social media posting and various negative outcomes, and data connecting cyberbullying to depression and signs of dependency.
The Life in Media Survey, led by researchers at the University of South Florida in collaboration with The Harris Poll, conducted a survey of more than 1 500 11-to-13-year-olds in Florida. The findings will inform a 25-year national study that will track young people’s digital media use and well-being into adulthood, reports News-Medical.net.
Key findings include:
• Children who have their own smartphones fared better than their peers who don't on nearly every measure of well-being assessed. Youngsters with smartphones were less likely to report depression and anxiety symptoms, and more likely to spend time in-person with friends and report feeling good about themselves than children who don’t have their own smartphones.
• Efforts to limit digital media use among children don’t appear to be working, as more than 70% of 11-year-olds surveyed have their own smartphone, with many acquiring them by the age of eight-and-a-half.
• Posting publicly to social media was associated with multiple harms. Children who often post to social media platforms were twice as likely as those who never, or rarely post, to report moderate or severe symptoms of depression, moderate or severe symptoms of anxiety, and have sleep issues.
• Even the smallest amount of cyberbullying – being called a mean or hurtful name online – is associated with adverse outcomes. Nearly six in 10 respondents said they had endured a form of cyberbullying in the past three months. Those children were more likely than those who were not bullied to report feeling depressed most days in the past year, getting angry and losing their temper, and finding it hard to stop using technology.
“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,” said Justin Martin, lead researcher on the project and the Eleanor Poynter Jamison Chair in Media Ethics and Press Policy as USF.
Based on the findings, the research team of experts from journalism, psychology, public health, political science and communications, as well as a researcher from the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, provide a few recommendations:
• Allowing children as young as 11 to have their own smartphone is probably fine and may be beneficial.
• Parents should discourage children from posting publicly on social platforms. Parents should also be on alert for the slightest signs of cyberbullying, which is prevalent and harmful.
• Don’t let children sleep with their smartphones. One in four youngsters surveyed sleep with a smartphone in their hand or in bed. Children who keep their phones in their bed don’t get enough sleep as those who sleep with phones in another room.
“Our findings indicate that the effects of smartphone ownership are complex. It’s what children do with phones, and challenges in regulating their device use, rather than merely owning a smartphone, that may cause difficulties or inversely benefit their lives,” said Wendy Rote, Associate Professor, Psychology, USF.
Informed by this survey, the research team will now prepare to start a nationwide, long-term study of some 8 000 children in early adolescence.
The Life in Media Survey is the first lifespan study of its kind examining digital media use. It sets out to track participants from youth to adulthood to learn more about the long-term health and wellness impacts of smartphones, social media and other digital media and devices.
Research will be conducted over the next 25 years, and data collected every six months will give ongoing insight to parents, teachers, researchers, health providers and others on the impact of digital media use on children 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,” said Stephen Song, co-principal investigator and USF assistant professor of journalism.
Researchers hope to determine how digital media affects and changes attitudes, behaviour and health throughout people’s lives. For example, over time, the Life in Media Survey will be able to provide specifics about the impact of six-second videos on developing brains, the effects of staring at screens for five hours a day on eyesight, and how online socialisation in childhood affects sociability at the age of 30.
Full Life in Media Studies Report (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
More screen time links with lower psychological well-being in children
Spike in “problematic” teenage social media use – global study