- A study has shown that social media usage may cause children to lose as much as one night of sleep per week.
- Nearly 70% of the children polled were spending at least four hours per day on social networking sites.
- 12.5% of children surveyed woke up at night to check their notifications.
Children younger than 12 years old could lose the equivalent of one night sleep per week from excessive social media usage. a new study suggests.
Nearly 70% of the 60 children below 12 years old surveyed by De Montfort University Leicester, UK, stated that they used social media at least 4 hours per day. Two-thirds of the children surveyed by De Montfort University in Leicester, UK, said that they used social media apps for at least two hours before bed.
The study also revealed that 12.5% surveyed children were awake at night checking their notifications.
John Shaw, a psychology lecturer, was the head of the study. According to NHS guidelines, children should sleep between 9 and 11 hours per night. However, those surveyed reported an average of 8.7 hours.
He said that their sleep is affected by the fear of missing something, which is driven largely by social media. They want to see what their friends are up to, and if they’re not online, it’s likely that you’re not participating in the event.
It could be a feedback loop. You are more likely to use social media when you feel anxious. And what’s more, you’re looking at something that can stimulate and delay sleep.
TikTok was the most popular app among children, with 90% saying that they use it. Snapchat was used 84% of the time, and Instagram was used by just over half of those surveyed.
California lawmakers seek to reduce the negative impact that social media can have upon young children.
Recently, the state Passed a lawIt was designed to target some of the most harmful features that the apps use. It bans social media apps knowingly designing features that harm children’s health. Factsheet.
