Most students fake age to access social media sites – survey
MORE than three-quarters of Irish secondary school students never read terms and conditions before joining social media sites – and 60% lied about their age to sign up, a study of 5,500 pupils has found. The findings will strengthen calls by all three main Opposition parties that the digital age of consent should be 16.
The digital age of consent is the age at which people can sign up for social media sites, and the age at which marketers can harvest their data and target ads at them. The Government is favouring a consent age of 13 ahead of a Dáil vote on the matter this week.
The fact that the majority of those surveyed lied about their age to sign up indicates that a higher age of consent may be needed.
The poll by Studyclix.ie, Ireland’s largest study website, shows high levels of concern about online privacy and safety.
It was found that 41% of those who took part in survey are in agreement that smartphones should be banned in schools; an earlier Studyclix.ie survey of teachers found 60% supported such a ban.
It was also found that 65% of students are concerned about spending too much time on their phones.
Additionally, nine out of ten are worried about their online privacy and personal data, especially following the revelations about Cambridge Analytica and Facebook using people’s online data.
The fourth annual Studyclix. ie Student Attitudes Survey found the overwhelming majority of students (84%) admit they check their phones in bed for a final time before lights out each night.
The survey also showed 66% of students have experienced difficulty in sleeping after looking at screens.
Reflecting the concerns about online privacy, a high proportion of the 5,500 students said they had social media platforms now set to private mode, including 75% of Instagram users. However, one in three users of Snapchat – the most popular social media channel, which identifies users’ exact locations – do not use a ‘ghost mode’ that hides the information.
The survey shows Snapchat has strengthened its grip as the social media channel of choice, with 94% of secondary school students using the app, compared to 90% using Instagram. Facebook has slumped to third place on 72%; three years ago, it was the most popular app among secondlevel students, with an 88% preference.
It was also found that one in four secondary school students play video games regularly – devoting an average of 1.2 hours per weeknight to the activity, rising to three hours at weekends. The study found 66% have played video games classified as over-18s while they were underage.
Commenting on the results, Luke Saunders, co-founder of Studyclix.ie, said: ‘Teenagers are connected from the moment they wake up until they lull themselves to sleep flicking through their Instagram feed. The negative impacts of this pervasive use of technology are still yet to be fully understood.’ Comment – Page 12
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Impacts ‘yet to be understood’