More than half of all children and adolescents aged 9-18 believe that their Internet use at least once a week means that they do not devote themselves to things they really should, such as doing homework and sleeping on time. For those aged 17-18, the figure is 73 percent. This is stated in a new study by the Swedish National Media Council.

The use of the mobile phone, and especially social media, is what is perceived as the most problematic and occurs at the expense of other activities, according to the young people who participated in the survey. In addition to sleep and homework, there are activities such as sports and reading that can be ironed.

There are major differences among the sexes. Girls tend to be more self-critical than boys about how big they think the problem is in relation to how much time they actually spend on media usage.

Discontent and worry among parents

Using social media has also become much more common among younger children. Since 2012, the proportion of children using social media more than three hours per day has doubled in the age group of 13-18 years, and quadrupled in the age group of 9-12 years.

Parents are also unhappy with the amount of time the children spend on digital activities, especially mobile use and video games. The survey also shows that a large proportion of parents have a negative attitude to social media and find that they steal time from other activities.

There is also a widespread concern among parents that the children should be exposed to bullying, threats and adults seeking sexual contact, but the anxiety decreases the older the child is. However, the proportion of children who have been subjected to bullying and threats on social media has increased.