Smartphone at home or in the locker
More and more schools are adopting the principle of keeping smartphones at home or in the locker, and society is becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of social media and smartphone use on young people’s behaviour. ‘Understandably so,’ according to Siebers. ‘It is a vulnerable phase in which you rebel against parental authority, but do not yet have the discipline to choose what is healthiest for you.’
Justified concern
And now it turns out that this concern is indeed justified. The impact of social media on concentration among this age group has previously been studied surprisingly little, and research was mainly based on self-reporting. Siebers now adds young people’s actual activities on their phones. A tracking app on the smartphones of secondary school students recorded more than 750,000 activities. Combined with data from a total of 55,000 questionnaires, this gives the PhD candidate a much more complete picture of the impact of app use on concentration and sleep among young people.
Frequently and quickly checking updates
82% of young people say they are more easily distracted during the hours in which they spend relatively much time on social apps. “What stood out was that most young people repeatedly look at their phones for a relatively short time to check for an update from one of their social channels, and then put them away again,” says Siebers. “That is not good news, because that happens to be the usage pattern in which distraction becomes worse.”
“The constant switching of attention from the phone to something else places a significant strain on young people’s ability to concentrate,” says Siebers. 77% of young people were more distracted when smartphone use was fragmented. When they use their smartphones for a longer uninterrupted period, that percentage is lower: 55%.
Sleep and social media
The same can be seen with sleep. However, not all app behaviour directly leads to poorer sleep. “Smartphone use during the day has no impact on sleep.” And not all apps directly lead to poorer sleep either. “With video apps, for example, the effect is negligible. But gaming on the phone is very bad for sleep. And here too, it is advisable not to use social media apps,” says Siebers. Interaction is an important factor. “It is incredibly tempting to keep scrolling or to try again when your game is over. These young people therefore remain awake and restless for longer after putting their phones away.”
Applying the brakes
According to Siebers, this research confirms what society has long suspected: young people are adversely affected by social media apps. He therefore believes that smartphone lockers and other initiatives aimed at taking stronger action against the impact of smartphones on young people are by no means unnecessary. “The figures are crystal clear: the effect of social apps on distraction among young people is universal, the effect on sleep is demonstrable, and young people are negatively affected by smartphones during their school years. It is good to apply the brakes now.”
Conversation about self-regulation
At the same time, we need to have a conversation about how young people themselves can be empowered to ignore smartphones at times when that would be better. Siebers: “It is a great opportunity for young people to learn self-regulation during adolescence. If they see that they themselves are in control of their behaviour, they will also learn to resist other temptations.”
Response from NJi
“This research confirms how essential media education is,” says Vivian den Blanken of the Netherlands Youth Institute. “For young people, resisting the temptations of the apps on their phones is a challenge. This is partly due to their stage of development, but the apps are also designed to distract you. Siebers is right that young people need to learn to become resilient to this. But they do need adults’ help with that.”
Den Blanken argues that young people’s social media use should be taken seriously. “For young people, the online and offline worlds are inextricably linked. The policy of no longer allowing mobile phones at school is positive for learning outcomes. At the same time, the effects on social development are still less clear. You need to take that into account.”
The online world in which young people live
Professionals would do well to include the online world in their work, says Den Blanken. “That does not mean that professionals themselves need to be present on all those apps. It is more about being curious about the online world in which young people live and recognising that it is important. For example, ask: ‘Could you explain to me how that app works? Which social media platforms do you use? What do you use them for? What makes it so much fun for you?’.”
Click here for Teun Siebers’ research.