The study found that the amount of time teens spend on screen, whether it’s watching videos, playing games, or using social media, doesn’t significantly affect self-esteem.
Many parents and caregivers are concerned about teens spending too much time on smartphones, video games, and social media, says Michigan State University professor and director of academic research at the Quello Center. Keith Hampton, who is on screen time, thinks otherwise. cause for concern.
Instead, he’s more concerned about adolescents who are disconnected because they have limited access to the internet.
“Teens who are cut off from today’s technology are more isolated from their peers, which can lead to problems,” Hampton said. “Many young people struggle with mental health. Adolescents often grapple with self-esteem issues related to body image, peers, family and school, but disconnection is much bigger than screen time. Social media and video games are deeply entrenched in youth culture and serve more than entertainment: they help children socialize, contribute to identity formation, and serve as a source of social support. provide a channel for
Hampton and his colleagues study amputation. For most of his teens, Internet access is part of everyday life. These teens only experience disconnection if they choose to limit their device use or if their parents step in to control the amount of time they spend online.
But many teens, mostly in rural America, aren’t connected to the internet for a completely different reason. They live in homes with very poor infrastructure for broadband connectivity. These her teens often have no internet access outside of school, very slow access at home, and spotty data coverage even with smartphones.
“If you want insight into the mental health of young people who can only be cut off from the screen, rural teens are the last remaining natural control group,” Hampton said.
In a peer-reviewed paper based on a survey of 3,258 rural youth, Hampton and his team assessed the self-esteem and social activities of teens with no or poor internet access at home. We compared the teens who used the screen the most with those who used the internet the most. Parents who tightly control or restrict screen usage. Here’s what they found.
The greatest predictor of low self-esteem was simply being a girl. This was not surprising, as the great toll of adolescence for young girls is well established: her second-largest determinant of girls’ and boys’ self-esteem was poor school performance. did.
Teenagers with poor internet access at home and those whose parents exercised the greatest amount of control over their media use also had significantly lower self-esteem. performance.
[embedded content]
Keith Hampton, a professor in the Department of Media Information and director of academic research at the Center, said why teens’ disconnection from the internet is a bigger problem than too much screen time. is explained. Hampton details why the internet is good for teens to stay connected with family and friends.Credit: Michigan State University
The amount of time teens spent on screen, such as watching videos, playing games, and using social media, did not significantly affect teen self-esteem. Even his teens, who used screens “too much”, were not connected to the internet either because they had poor internet access or because their parents controlled their online time significantly. reported having higher self-esteem than their younger peers.
why? Because media is deeply embedded in youth culture.
“Isolation doesn’t come from being online, it comes from being cut off from the sources of entertainment and socializing that permeate teens’ lives,” Hampton said. “For most of her teens, it’s social media, video games, and sharing videos they’ve seen online. Often times, it’s how teens get, communicate, and share information. ”
This doesn’t mean teens don’t spend time socializing face-to-face. Her teens, who spend a lot of time using social media and watching videos, are spending more time socializing. Hampton found that for every hour she spends on her social media, there are 21 minutes of her time spent with friends. Screen “excessive” users were spending more time with family and friends.
“Teens spend more time on their devices, less time with friends and family, and ‘too much’ time online is damaging to the mental health of most teens,” Hampton said. Perpetuating myths does more harm than good. “When parents control too much screen time for their teens, they cut them off from their peers and the social supports that protect their mental health. but COVID-19 (new coronavirus infectious disease) The study shows the dire costs experienced by rural youth who were unable to connect to the internet during the pandemic and the urgent need to address gaps in rural broadband infrastructure. “
Hampton said this does not mean that social media platforms are harmless. Online bullying and algorithms that focus teens on potentially harmful content pose serious mental health risks. Also, some of her teens are more vulnerable than others.
However, the research focused on parents discussing the risks of media use with their teens, helping them develop important media skills, and encouraging teens to use media. Teens have been shown to report higher self-esteem when given greater autonomy regarding their use.
Hampton said, “We advise parents to focus on what their teens are doing online and spend time with them, rather than focusing on the time they spend on screen. increase.
See: “Disconnection is more problematic for adolescent self-esteem than over-use of social media: Evidence from inequalities of access and restrictive media parenting in rural America,” Keith N. Hampton and Ying Young Shin, 2022. August 5, social science computer review.
DOI: 10.1177/08944393221117466
