Banning social media for teens: solution or overreaction?
Key takeaways
- One in seven teens in the EU spends more than eight hours a day in front of screens, a new study shows.
- 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.
- But, at the same time, nearly every one in three adolescents reported feeling sad, stressed or socially excluded because of social media.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
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?
https://p.dw.com/p/5G2St Smart phones and screens play a huge role in teenagers' lives Image: Cristina Quicler/AFP/Getty Images Advertisement 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.