Gen Z stands out as the first era to have childhoods rife with screens and outlined by having a second life on-line, however a few of their cohort may also be first to say that connectivity has its downsides.
New knowledge from the Pew Analysis Middle reveals that just about half of Gen Z teenagers say social media harms individuals their age, and roughly the identical share say they spend an excessive amount of time scrolling.
Researchers didn’t solely take Zoomers at their phrase about how they suppose social media impacts their psychological well being. They requested their dad and mom, too. The research surveyed almost 1,400 teen-parent pairs through the fall of 2024.
Right here’s how the generations overlapped and diverged on teenagers’ digital lives and their psychological well-being.
Mother and father Fear Extra
In a maybe unsurprising final result, the information reveals that oldsters are extra frightened about teenagers’ psychological well being than their youngsters are.
Greater than half of oldsters stated they’re “extraordinarily or very” frightened about teen psychological well being. Solely about one-third of teenagers stated the identical.
Extra teenagers are, because the youth would possibly say, unbothered. Twenty-three % of teenagers stated they have been under no circumstances frightened concerning the state of their era’s psychological well being, double the quantity of unworried dad and mom.
Mother and father are more likely than their kids to say tech is the most important unfavourable drive on teen psychological well being, with a mixed 58 % naming social media and expertise generally as their prime concern.
Solely 22 % of teenagers stated social media was the most important downside, and their responses confirmed that oldsters underestimated the consequences of bullying and social expectations.
There have been additionally variations amongst who’s worrying when the numbers are damaged out by demographics.
Moms and ladies have been extra prone to be “extraordinarily/very involved” about teen psychological well being than fathers and boys.
Black dad and mom and youths have been likewise extra frightened than different teams.
Couldn’t Be Me
Right here’s a stat which may have dad and mom rolling their eyes.
The survey outcomes discovered an attention-grabbing contradiction: Teenagers total consider that social media is dangerous to their buddies, in keeping with the information, however really feel they’re personally proof against its sick results.
Practically half of teenagers stated social media is generally unfavourable for his or her age group, however solely 14 % stated it was dangerous to them personally.
A plurality of Gen Z teenagers agreed that their social media utilization retains them from getting sufficient sleep (45 %) and that it tanks their productiveness (40 %).
However solely about one-fifth of younger respondents stated it hurts their grades, and one other half of teenagers stated social media has no impact on their efficiency in colleges.
Some educators would possible reply to these numbers with a powerful, “Positive, Jan,” given the rise in cellphone and smartwatch bans that college districts hope will assist college students concentrate on their classwork by eliminating the siren tune of their social media notifications.
Feeling Linked, Desirous to Unplug
Whereas grownup conversations about social media are likely to heart on the way it distracts teenagers from the true world, teenagers overwhelmingly stated they see their digital world as a spot the place they will join with buddies and be inventive.
However their experiences additionally differ throughout genders and ethnicities.
Women reported feeling each the constructive and unfavourable results of social media extra strongly than boys. Sixty-eight % of ladies stated posting on social media gave them a spot to showcase their creativity, 10 proportion factors greater than boys. Thirty-six % of ladies felt strain to submit content material “that may get plenty of feedback or likes,” whereas 26 % of boys stated the identical.
Black teenagers have been extra possible — in some circumstances, more likely — to say they skilled numerous assist and artistic spark from social media. The biggest hole was between teenagers who stated what they see on social media makes them really feel much more accepted: 25 % of Black teenagers in comparison with 10 % of white teenagers.
Whereas greater than half of teenagers stated social media makes them really feel extra linked to buddies and like they’ve a assist community, Pew researchers famous that these numbers have been sliding over the earlier two years.
The largest dip was the proportion of teenagers who stated utilizing social media made them really feel supported although robust occasions, which fell 15 factors to 52 % in comparison with survey outcomes from 2022.
Teenagers additionally made a U-turn on their perspective about how a lot time they spend scrolling. From 2022 to 2023, the proportion of them who stated they went overboard on their social media utilization fell 9 factors to 27 %. That quantity shot as much as 45 % final yr.