Secondary Research
Flemish youth will never be able to live without smartphone and is dependent on social media #
This article is about how youth in Flanders is connected to their smartphone on a level that has never been seen before. They conducted research about the smartphone usage of people between the age of 6-18 years old.
Interesting results #
1/5 of youngsters feels restless if they can't check their online lives at any time of the day.
47% uses their smartphone to escape the real world for a moment.
There is a huge FOMO among young people, they are scared that every moment not spent online is a moment they miss important things happening. Because of this they want to check social media as often as possible and consequently as long as possible, sometimes leading to sleepless nights.
How using social media affects teenagers #
The royal society for public health conducted a research where they asked 14-24 year olds how social media impacts their health and wellbeing.
Interesting results #
Social skills are less developed because of the social interactions online, children don't learn how to talk to someone face to face.
There is a barrier when talking to someone online. People act differently when there's less at stake, social media gives them some sort of shield to hide behind.
The survey results found that social media led to increased feelings of depression, anxiety, poor body image and loneliness.
Children develop their personality with influences from social media. Peer pressure is a big factor in this development, social media makes them become someone they might not have become without social media influence.