How does online social networking and ‘screen-based media’ influence young people’s wellbeing, and how should policymakers respond?
Research from the University of Essex published in the American Journal of Public Health found a range of negative relationships between adolescent wellbeing and technology.
The analysis, using data from Understanding Society (USoc), found associations between usage of screen-based media (SBM), online social networking sites (SNS) and various measures of wellbeing and socio-emotional difficulties.
In this discussion paper, the Strategic Society Centre responds to the research, exploring its implications for public health and evaluating a range of potential policy responses.
Screened Out recommends the government to:
- Issue national guidelines for volume of SBM and SNS usage among young people
- Empower young people through public health campaigns and compulsory school programmes by educating them about how SBM and SNS usage may affect their wellbeing
- Compel technology and Internet companies to acknowledge their responsibilities, engage with the risks posed to young people’s wellbeing and, where necessary, re-design hardware and online experiences to ‘nudge’ young people’s behaviour
- Ensure more research into the link between wellbeing, SNS and SBM
You can download a copy of Screened Out here:
Screened Out: Meeting the challenge of technology and young people’s wellbeing
Authors: Gordon Cameron and James Lloyd, Strategic Society Centre
Twitter: #sscimpact
Screened Out received extensive media coverage on BBC London News, and in The Observer and The Times (£).