Most Teens Prefer to Chat Online, Rather Than in Person -- Update
September 10 2018 - 5:30PM
Dow Jones News
By Betsy Morris
More than two-thirds of teens say they would rather communicate
with their friends online than in person, according to a new study
that comes as tech companies are trying to help parents and
children monitor the time spent online.
The study, from the nonprofit Common Sense Media, is an update
of a similar survey conducted in 2012 that was one of the first to
document the influence of digital media on teens. It lands as
Silicon Valley's technology titans -- including Facebook Inc.,
Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google -- are trying to address
rising parental concerns about whether too much screen time can be
hurtful.
The percentage of young people who said their favorite way to
talk to friends is face-to-face declined to 32% from 49% six years
ago, according to the survey of more than 1,000 13- to 17-year-olds
conducted in March and April.
"You can't help but say, 'Is there something big going on here?'
-- some fundamental shift in the way people will be communicating
with each other in the future," said Vicky Rideout, principal at
VJR Consulting, the co-author and lead researcher on the
project.
Ms. Rideout also noted two other survey findings: an increase to
54%, from 44% six years ago, of teens who say their devices
distract them when "I should be paying attention to the people I'm
with;" and a big percentage of teens, 44%, who say they are
frustrated with friends for being on their phones so much when they
are hanging out together.
"I start to wonder are we getting into some negative feedback
loop. You're distracted with people when you're with them and
they're distracted and it isn't as fun in person so you'd rather be
communicating online," Ms. Rideout said.
Common Sense, based in San Francisco, promotes safe media and
technology for children.
The new study also highlights the increasing frequency of
social-media use among teens, 89% of whom now say they have
smartphones compared with 41% six years ago. Now, 70% of teens say
they use social media more than once a day compared with 34% six
years ago; 38% say they are on social media multiple times an hour,
and 16% say they use it almost constantly.
"The good news is [teens] are much more aware of its impact --
both the good and the bad -- than they were a few years ago," said
Jim Steyer, Common Sense chief executive, in an interview. "The bad
news is they prefer to communicate with each other online rather
than face to face. As a parent and educator, I find that very
troubling."
While teens are savvier about social media, they still can't
resist it. More than 70% said they believe that tech companies
manipulate users to get them to spend more time on their devices.
Fifty-seven percent said social media is a frequent distraction
during homework. Yet only 31% said they turn their phones off
during all or most of homework time.
Few of the teens said social media has a negative effect on how
they feel about themselves. But the study showed that social media
has a heightened effect, both positively and negatively, in the
lives of more vulnerable teens -- those who might, say, be
depressed, lonely, or lack self-esteem. Those teens are more likely
than the others to report they have been hurt by social media. But
they are more likely than six years ago to say social media has had
a positive effect on them.
"These updated estimates of teens' social-media use are helpful
because they show how common it is for teens to be checking social
media several times per hour or per day," said Dr. Jenny Radesky, a
University of Michigan assistant professor of pediatrics, who
specializes in developmental and behavioral health.
That is significant, she said, in light of a July article in the
Journal of the American Medical Association that suggested a link
between heavy media use -- including frequently checking social
media -- and the emergence of ADHD symptoms in teens.
She said there have also been recent reports of rising ADHD
rates in U.S. children. "That's only one study so far," Dr. Radesky
said, "but I think it shows that we need to dig deeper into how the
frequent split attention, instant gratification and emotional
arousal that stem from media use might be influencing teens'
thinking processes."
When asked which social-media site they use most, 41% of the
teens said Snapchat; 22% said Instagram; and 15% said Facebook. Six
years ago, 68% of the teens said Facebook was their main
social-media site.
Write to Betsy Morris at betsy.morris@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 10, 2018 17:15 ET (21:15 GMT)
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