When it comes to teenagers' extensive use of social media and smartphones, parental fears may have been sensationalized according to Duke University researchers. However, there are exclusions in the cases of cyber bullying and sleep deprivation which remain as top parental concerns.
When it comes to how young people spend their time, each generation, who grew up on a specific set of values and skills, have varying concerns. In today's digitally connected world, teenagers spend a lot of time on their smart phones and the older generations are quick to assume negative impacts.
In an online article published in the Perspectives on Psychological Science journal, co-authors Madeleine J. George and Candice Odgers analyzed common parental fears about mobile device usage and existing research findings. George is a doctoral candidate at Duke University while Odgers is associate professor in the university's Sanford School of Public Policy and Duke Center for Child and Family Policy director.
"We tend to count hours spent using technology, rather than seek to understand the reasons teens are immersed in the digital world. When we look closely, we see considerable overlap between the underlying motivations and content of online versus offline communications and activities," said Odgers.
Not surprisingly, nearly 90 percent of teenagers in the U.S. owns or have access to a smartphone. They are constantly connected to the 'digital world' and, on average, they spend as much as 1.5 hours text messaging. Most of the teenagers access the World Wide Web on their smart phones. On average, they can spend as much as 7.5 hours daily on all kinds of digital media, including famous social media sites. The figures might paint the picture that too much time is being spent online, however, researchers found otherwise.
During the early age of the Internet, the number of teenagers spending time online was small but heavy usage presented problems in the offline world. Today, when online access is easier, the number of teens online had increased exponentially but the Internet usage also reflect their offline lives. The study found that teenagers reinforce their offline relationships online in the form of social media interactions. Teenagers are using digital media to connect with close friends and people they have previously met offline.
Unfortunately, for teens struggling with offline relationships, increasing hours spent online could be a sign of regressions in their well-being. Parents concerned with their kids' offline social behavior should be more concerned about their online interactions.
Researchers found that nine out of 10 teens victimized by cyber bullying have experienced traditional bullying in the offline world. Cyber bullying's extent in the connected world and the amount of anguish it causes teens are top concerns among parents.
Concerns about digital media-related sleep deprivation are also justifiable fears. It was also found that four out of five teens sleep with their phones within reach. Teens who use their smartphones way past bedtime were found to be more exhausted compared to teens who practice zero digital media usage after lights out. Past studies have revealed how a smart phone's screen light affect sleep.
The researchers noted the review focused only on teenagers and not on younger children with increased Internet usage. They stressed that a large number of the studies they analyzed contain limited self-reports from both teenagers and parents.
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