Adolescent Facebook and Instagram Addiction Linked to Inequality: A Study
Teenagers from underprivileged homes They are more likely to report addiction to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other social media, according to research.
The peer-reviewed journal Information, Communication and Society published the results of the study.
The results of a first-of-its-kind study reveal a link between economic inequality and unsatisfactory use of social networks and instant messaging services. The situation worsens in schools where there is an economic and social gap between students.
According to the authors, the findings, based on data from more than 179,000 children in 40 countries, demonstrate the need for new social media use practices that reduce the effects of poverty.
The authors argue that government action could help limit youth dysfunction or abnormal behavior. These unwanted behaviors include not being able to reduce screen time or lying about social media use to friends and family.
According to the lead author of the study Michela Lenziassistant professor of psychology at the University of Padua in Italy, inequality can have negative effects on teenagers’ problematic social media use at the individual, school and national levels.
“Policymakers should create initiatives to reduce disparities and limit unhealthy social media use behavior among young people.”
Young people use social media a lot, and both the risks and benefits of well-being have been studied extensively.
Problematic social media use (PSMU) is not professionally recognized as a behavioral addiction. But it is considered a youth health issue.
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between adolescent PSMU and socioeconomic disparities that can be measured at the individual, school, and national levels.
The authors also examined how peer and family support affected these correlations as moderators.
The results are based on 179,049 children from 40 different countries, including most of Europe and Canada, aged 11, 13 and 15. Evidence was obtained from the World Health Organization’s international collaboration Health Behavior in School-age Children study, which is conducted every four years.
To identify addictive-like behavior related to social media, the researchers gave the children questionnaires to fill out. Forms were completed anonymously in the presence of a teacher or qualified interviewer while being observed in the classroom.
Anyone who identified PSMU was a youth who reported six or more items. These included using social media to escape from unpleasant feelings, using it less but failing, and feeling terrible when not using it.
Scales of deprivation were determined with an index based on material assets inside the home or in the family’s operations. The items included the number of bathrooms and the number of international family vacations in the previous year.
The authors assessed the level of social support from friends and family, as well as the country’s wealth. They also took into account the percentage of each country’s population that uses the Internet.
The results showed that teenagers who were significantly less fortunate than their classmates and attended schools with greater economic disparity were more likely to report PSMU.
Youth who received less support from their peers had a greater association with the wealth gap among classmates. However, the association between PSMU and national income inequality was only observed among teenagers who reported receiving little family support.
The relationship between financial hardship and PSMU may be due to several factors. One idea the authors suggest is that poorer youth are more likely to share photos and videos because they equate them with status and power.
They suggest that prevention programs in schools could focus on “objective and perceived” social class differences between classmates.
Increased peer support, which the authors found to be a protective factor in the association between relative deprivation and PSMU, is another important component.
HT
Source: ANI