Rise in ‘addictive-like behaviours’ among teenagers towards social media – study

Health experts have called for more to be done to protect teenagers from “potentially damaging” social media use after a new study found that a rising proportion are showing addictive-like behaviours towards the online platforms.

A new study found that an average of 11% of teenagers across 44 countries display “problematic” social media use.

This has increased since before the pandemic when some 7% displayed so-called problematic social media use, characterised by addiction-like symptoms including: neglect of other activities in favour of spending time on social media; a preoccupation with the platforms; frequent arguments about use; lying about how much time is spent on social media; an inability to control social media use and experiencing withdrawal when not using it.

Higher than average problematic social media use was recorded in England and Scotland compared to other countries examined in the Health Behaviour In School-Aged Children study.

Some 14% of teenagers in England and Scotland showed addictive-like behaviours towards social media.

In Wales, the figure was 12%, according to data from the study, which has been published by the European arm of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In 2022, more than one in five (22%) 13-year-old girls in Scotland displayed addictive-like behaviours towards social media, up from 11% in 2018.

And in England, prevalence increased from 12% in 2018 to 23% in 2022.

Meanwhile, across all countries, some 36% of teenagers reported “constant” online contact with friends – meaning they are in contact with friends or others “almost all the time throughout the day”.

This rose to 53% of 13-year-old girls in Scotland and 47% in England. Rates in Wales were similar to the average seen across all countries studied.

The study, which surveyed almost 280,000 young people aged 11, 13, and 15 across countries in Europe, Central Asia and Canada in 2022, also highlights concerns about the proportion of teenagers who are deemed to be “at risk of problematic gaming”.

Some 15% of teenagers in England are deemed to be “at risk” – the second highest proportion across all countries studied.

Researchers said that boys were more likely than girls to show signs of problematic gaming.

Across all countries studied, 34% of adolescents play digital games daily and 22% play for at least four hours on gaming days.

The average proportion of boys who played daily was 46% but this figure stood at 52% in England and 57% in Scotland.

Specifically, 13-year-old boys in Scotland had the highest rate of daily play compared to their peers, with three in five (60%) reporting daily play.

Meanwhile, 13-year-old boys in England reported the highest rate of playing long gaming sessions, with 45% of boys this age playing for at least four hours on game days.

Dr Jo Inchley, international co-ordinator for the Health Behaviour In School-Aged Children (HBSC) study, from the University of Glasgow, told the PA news agency: “Across the study as a whole, we found that just over a third of adolescents report continuous online contact with friends and others – that means that almost all the time throughout the day they are connected online to friends and other people.

“And that increases with age, and our highest prevalence is amongst 15-year-old girls

“That also includes not just friends, but also people that they’ve met online that they maybe didn’t know before – we found over one in 20 young people are in regular online contact with people that they’ve met online but didn’t know previously.

“When we look at sort of the problematic end of the spectrum, 11% of adolescents are classified as problematic users, which covers things like wanting to spend more time on social media, using social media and neglecting other activities, maybe arguing with family about social media use, or having to lie about the amount of time spent on it and having this preoccupation with social media use.

“Problematic social media use is also higher in UK countries compared with HBSC average and we’ve seen more marked increases in the last four years.

“Problematic use is most common amongst 13-year-olds – it sort of peaks in that early adolescence phase and girls are more likely to report problematic social media use than boys.”

She added: “When you look at gaming, then we see a sort of reversal of the gender happening.

“Online gaming or digital gaming is more common among boys than girls, and problematic gaming is again more common amongst boys – 12% overall were classified as being at risk of problematic gaming, where it interferes with other aspects of one’s life.”

The report also suggests that teenagers who are heavy, but not problematic users of social media, reported stronger peer support and social connections.

Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, said: “It’s clear that social media can have both positive and negative consequences on the health and well-being of adolescents.

“That’s why digital literacy education is so important, yet it remains inadequate in many countries, and where it is available it often fails to keep pace with young people and rapidly evolving technology.

“We are seeing the consequences of this gap, with worse likely to come, unless governments, health authorities, teachers and parents recognise the root causes of the current situation and take steps to rectify it.

“It’s clear we need immediate and sustained action to help adolescents turn the tide on potentially damaging social media use, which has been shown to lead to depression, bullying, anxiety, and poor academic performance.”

The report sets out a number of actions including: a call for digital literacy to be taught in schools, including about social media use; better mental health services to address issues arising from problematic technology use; an increase in awareness and a call for “platform accountability” which could include social media companies enforcing age restrictions.

It comes as a separate study from the University of Oxford found that video games can be good for a person’s mood.

Academics reviewed mood reports from 8,695 players during 67,328 play sessions of the game PowerWash Simulator – where players simulate building a power-washing business.

They compared players’ moods at the beginning of play sessions with their moods during play and found that the average player reported positive mood changes during play, according to the study published in Games: Research And Practice.

Researchers from the Oxford Internet Institute said that 72% of players experienced this mood uplift during play, but that the bulk of this occurred during the first 15 minutes.

The study included players from 39 countries including the US, UK, Canada and Germany.