Social media an online obsession for teenagers

TEENAGERS are hooked on their mobile phones, checking social media sites up to 50 times a day without their parents’ knowledge, a survey shows.

One in 10 teenagers say they communicate with strangers daily and one in four are being bullied online, the Australian Psychological Society research has found.

But two thirds of parents don’t monitor what their teens do online and don’t know their children’s passwords.

Teenagers are also bullying others, with one in three saying they have argued with someone they didn’t know and later regretted it, according to the Digital Me survey of 1000 adults and 150 teenagers.

APS spokeswoman Dr Lyn O’Grady said teenagers needed more control and guidance over their social media use.

“Social media is an asset for teens that are at a stage in their development where there is a strong need to reach out and communicate with others,” Dr O’Grady said.

“But they are less able to identify risks and more likely to act impulsively compared to adults and need boundaries, rules and guidance of parents to help them make good decisions — just as they do offline.”

The findings show 80 per cent of teenagers and more than half of all adults are “highly involved” with their mobile phones.

Teenagers admit to using them when walking down the street (32 per cent), eating meals (34) and when in class (25). Sixty per cent of teens and 40 per cent of adults say they use phones before sleep.

More than one third of teens say being without their phones is distressing and 21 per cent use their phone for “no particular reason”.

APS executive director Professor Lyn Littlefield said social media users should “be selective about who you involve in your online social networks, just as you would offline”.