A recent study of young people’s digital media revealed some unsurprising results (e.g. experiencing cyberbullying is connected to depression) as well as a few surprising findings, including evidence that smartphone ownership may actually benefit children.
The survey — which was conducted by researchers from seven universities including University of South Florida (USF) and will be repeated annually over 25 years with the same group to assess how their experiences, digital media use and well-being change over time — included about 1,500 11- to 13-year-olds in Florida who participated last November and December.
More than 70 percent of 11-year-olds surveyed said they have their own smartphone, with many acquiring them by the age of eight and a half.
“Our findings indicate that the effects of smartphone ownership are complex,” Wendy Rote, USF associate professor of psychology, said in a statement. “It’s what kids do with cell phones and challenges in regulating their device use, rather than merely owning a smartphone, that may cause difficulties or inversely benefit their lives.”
Children who have their own smartphones were found to fare better than those who don’t on nearly every measure of well-being assessed. They were less likely to report depression and anxiety symptoms than their peers who don’t have their own smartphones, and more likely to spend time in-person with friends and report feeling good about themselves.
However, children who post publicly on social media even occasionally are more likely than their peers who never or rarely post to report feeling depressed (54 percent compared to 25 percent) and anxious (50 percent vs. 24 percent) and get too little sleep.
“Of course, the act of posting itself is not likely what contributes to depression and sleep deprivation in children, but instead what potentially follows: negative feedback from peers and/or strangers, cyberbullying, unfriending or blocking, doxxing, or any number of other online ills,” according to the report.
Cyberbullying
Students were categorized as having cyberbullied if they reported that they had hurtful photos or videos posted about them, been called mean or hurtful names on social media and/or had rumors or lies about them spread in the past three months.
Close to 60 percent of young people surveyed reported that they had been cyberbullied in some way, with 20 percent saying they experience cyberbullying weekly or more frequently. Those who had been cyberbullied were nearly three times as likely as their peers to say they felt depressed most days in the prior year (32 percent compared to 11 percent respectively), and were more prone to getting angry and losing their temper (36 percent vs. 10 percent), and finding it difficult to stop using technology (64 percent vs. 45 percent).
Researchers found that even the smallest amount of cyberbullying, such as being called a mean or hurtful name online, is associated with adverse outcomes, which “helps shed light on how destructive even minimal cyberbullying can be,” the report stated.
Despite such findings, young people who owned a smartphone were more likely to say they felt good about themselves (80 percent) compared to those without their own phones (69 percent).
Research will be conducted over the next 25 years, and data collected every six months will give ongoing information to parents, schools, researchers, health providers and other stakeholders on the impact of digital media use on children and as they age into adults. Researchers said they “hope to determine how digital media impacts and changes attitudes, behaviors and health throughout people’s lives. For example, over time, the Life in Media Survey will be able to provide specifics about the impact of short video consumption on attention span, the effects of staring at screens for five hours a day on eyesight and how online socialization in childhood affects sociability at age 30.”
“Our data provide a snapshot of how the media influences young people in the moment. But many of the problems and benefits of media use accumulate over time, which is why it is essential to also conduct a long-term study to accurately assess the effects of digital media on wellbeing through an individual’s life,” said Stephen Song, co-principal investigator and USF assistant professor of journalism.
