When away from their phone, teens feel anxious
IT can be difficult for people of all ages to spend time apart from their phones. But while a majority of American teenagers feel happy when they don’t have their smartphone, more than four in 10 say this makes them feel anxious.
As such, young people seem to have a somewhat toxic relationship with their phones.
A Pew Research study entitled ‘How Teens and Parents Approach Screen Timeʼ, conducted among American teenagers aged 13 to 17 and their parents, shows the extent to which young people have mixed feelings about their smartphone and their wellbeing.
While 72 per cent say they feel peaceful and 74 per cent report feeling happy when they don’t have their smartphone, 44 per cent admit to feeling anxious when separated from their device.
Forty per cent say they feel upset and 39 per cent feel lonely.
Girls are more likely than boys to feel anxious when they don’t have their phone.
In fact, 45 per cent of girls say they feel lonely regularly when they don’t have their phone, compared with 34 per cent of boys.
Despite this, teenagers are well aware that they spend too much time on their smartphones and that they use social media excessively.
More girls than boys admit to spending too much time on their smartphones (44 per cent versus 33 per cent), as well as on social media (32 per cent versus 22 per cent).
Yet the majority feel they spend the right amount of time on their smartphone (51 per cent), and even more on social media (64 per cent).
The study also reveals that young people are aware of the negative effects of phones on their social lives.
Although 69 per cent of teenagers say that smartphones make it easier for them to pursue their hobbies and interests, only 30 per cent think that they help them acquire good social skills.
CUTTING BACK ON SCREEN TIME
To avoid these excesses, teenagers have decided to reduce their screen time.
Almost four in 10 (39 per cent) say they have cut back on their time on social media, or on time using their phones (36 per cent).
The trend remains minimal, since the vast majority have not changed their habits, either in terms of time spent on their smartphone or on social media.
Here again, girls are ahead of boys in reducing their use the most. Around four in 10 girls have reduced the time spent on their smartphone and social networks, compared with around a third of boys.