Adolescence is the period of life in which children can be negatively affected by the use of social media (social media), although not at the exact same age. Girls are affected earlier than boys, shows one new British scientific study.
For girls, the negative impact of social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, on their life satisfaction is felt between the ages of 11 and 13, while for boys between the ages of 14 and 15, a difference that can It is also due to hormonal causes, as girls usually enter adolescence earlier. On the other hand, at the beginning of adulthood both sexes are negatively affected at the same age of 19 years.
Researchers from the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Cambridge and the University of Cambridge, published in the journal Nature Communications, point out that over the past decade, social media has fundamentally changed the way people of all ages spend their time, sharing information about themselves and communicating with others. Despite several studies on the subject, there is still an uncertainty about the relationship of social media with the mental well-being of adolescents and adults.
The new study by psychologists, neuroscientists and modelers analyzed data on about 84,000 people aged 10 to 80, including 17,400 aged 10-21. He found that there are specific times – different for both sexes – that adolescents are more vulnerable to their exposure to social media and their life satisfaction appears reduced a year later. On the other hand, teenagers who are already below average satisfied with their lives due to existing psychological and other problems, use social media more.
Also, in both boys and girls, the use of social media at the age of 19 is associated with a decrease in life satisfaction after one year. This is a post-adolescent age window, according to researchers, where young adults are often vulnerable again because they leave home or start working, which makes them more likely to be negatively affected by social media. In other periods, beyond adolescence and shortly after adulthood, the relationship between social media and reduced life satisfaction does not seem statistically significant.
Leading researcher, experimental psychologist Dr. Amy Orben of Cambridge, said: “The link between social media use and mental satisfaction is certainly very complex. Changes in our bodies, such as brain development and adolescence, as well as social circumstances “They seem to make us vulnerable at certain times in our lives.”
However, the study shows that not only the use of social media negatively affects mental health, but also the opposite is true, ie pre-reduced life satisfaction increases the use of social media. The researchers pointed out that it is currently impossible to predict which people are most at risk of being negatively affected by social media, e.g. showing anxiety, depression or sleep disturbances.
“Our statistical model looks at averages. This means that not every young person is going to experience a negative impact on their mental well-being from the use of social media on the Some people may use social media to connect with friends or help with a problem or because they have no one to talk to about something that concerns them or how they feel. to provide them with valuable support “.
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