Banning social media for teens: solution or overreaction?
One in seven teens in the EU spends more than eight hours a day in front of screens, a new study shows. Are social media
One in seven teens in the EU spends more than eight hours a day in front of screens, a new study shows. Are social media bans the answer? On a typical school day, young people spend an average of 4.5 hours online on screens and more than 6 hours at weekends, according to newly published EU data. In addition, it showed that nearly 14% of teenagers in the European Union, or one in seven, say they spend at least 8 hours or more on screens — a figure that rises to more than ten hours a day on Saturday and Sunday. When asked about the impact that screen time has on their lives, 40% of adolescents surveyed said it was positive, while only 29% spoke of negative effects. Around half of 13 to 18-year-olds feel optimistic about the effects of social media, with 48% saying social media has a positive impact on their mental health. But, at the same time, nearly every one in three adolescents reported feeling sad, stressed or socially excluded because of social media. Around 40% said they had difficulty concentrating or had trouble falling asleep. The survey backed up widespread concerns about young people being exposed to harmful content via these channels. More than a third of European teens reported seeing false or misleading information on social media, while a quarter reported encountering hate speech and almost one in five had seen unwanted violent content. Screen time is not the same as social media use However, Tanya Notley, professor at Western Sydney University and an expert on digital media literacy, sounded a warning against making an automatic link between social media and worsening wellbeing in young people. "None of the research in this survey shows a link between mental health and social media. I think it's much, much more nuanced than that," she told DW.
Notley said policy-makers should differentiate between how young people feel about spending time on screens and how they feel about social media. "When we talk about screen time, it's so broad. We're talking about their time on television but also about all the time they're doing homework," she said. "Looking at social media use is more useful." When it comes to how to tackle teenagers' exposure to social media, among those surveyed by the poll, nearly half urged social media platforms to improve implementation of existing rules, while 44% said more social-media education was needed. In total, almost half of the young people consulted said they think additional restrictions and age limits should be introduced. EU-wide social media ban for kids? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Rising support for social media bans Among those pressing for legal limits is former clinical psychologist Susie Davies, a founder of the UK-based charity PAPAYA (Parents Against Phone Addiction in Young Adolescents)Susie Davies, a founder of the UK-based charity PAPAYA (Parents Against Phone Addiction in Young Adolescents). She said she was worried about the mental-health impacts and called for a ban for those under 16. "Modern platforms are designed to tap into our dopamine reward pathways," she said. "That makes us all vulnerable to overconsumption and compulsive use." A social media ban is a "necessary response to the realities of the modern digital world," she said. "Adolescents are particularly vulnerable because the prefrontal corte the part of the brain responsible for decision-making, impulse control and emotional regulation — is still under construction and continues developing well into early adulthood." Earlier in June the UK announced that adolescents under 16 across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be banned from social media from Spring 2027.
The BriefWire