Teens hooked on mobile phones, Australian Psychological Society research finds

TEENAGERS are hooked on their mobile phones, checking social media sites up to 50 times a day without their parents’ knowledge, a new survey shows.

TEENAGERS are hooked on their mobile phones, checking social media sites up to 50 times a day without their parents’ knowledge, a survey shows.

One in 10 teenagers say they communicate with strangers daily, and one in four are being bullied online, the Australian Psychological Society research has found. However, two thirds of parents don’t monitor what their teenagers do online and don’t know their children’s passwords.

PARENTS, PUT DOWN YOUR PHONE OR RISK RAISING THE MUTE GENERATION

THE MELBOURNE MATES TRYING TO SWITCH CHILDREN FROM SCREENS TO BOOKS

WHAT VICTORIAN PARENTS REALLY THINK ABOUT RAISING CHILDREN

Teenagers are also bullying others, with one in three saying they have argued with someone they didn’t know and later regretted it, according to the Digital Me survey of 1000 adults and 150 teenagers.

APS spokesperson Dr Lyn O’Grady said teenagers needed more control and guidance over their social media use.

“Social media is an asset for teens that are at a stage in their development where there is a strong need to reach out and communicate with others,” Dr O’Grady said.

“But they are less able to identify risks and more likely to act impulsively compared to adults and need boundaries, rules and guidance of parents to help them make good decisions — just as they do offline.”

Fifteen-year-old Pauline checks social media more than 100 times a day and can’t ­imagine life without it.

“I use it all the time, it is easy to talk to friends,” she said.

She uses Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube multiple times a day and holds a 535-day Snapchat “streak”, meaning she has sent photos to the same friends over 535 consecutive days.

“Every morning I send Snapchats, it is a priority.”

The findings show 80 per cent of teenagers and more than half of all adults are “highly involved” with their mobile phones.

Teenagers admit to using them when walking down the street (32 per cent), eating meals (34) and when in class (25). Sixty per cent of teens and 40 per cent of adults say they use phones before sleep.

Pauline, 15, checks social media more than 100 times a day and can’t ­imagine life without it. Picture: Mark Stewart

More than one third of teens say being without their phones is distressing and 21 per cent use their phone for “no particular reason”.

The results also show 43 per cent of adults use their phone for no particular reason.

APS executive director Professor Lyn Littlefield said social media users should “be selective about who you involve in your online social networks, just as you would offline”.

“The people you connect with should boost your wellbeing, not undermine it,” Prof Littlefield said.

The survey results show two in three teens say they feel pressure to look good on social media, and three in five feel validated by reposts and “likes”. But the flip side is they also feel bad by discovering parties they weren’t invited to and believe people don’t show themselves as they really are.

[e-mail]