Teen girls more likely to find social media to be a problem than boys

A study from Public Health Wales (PHW) and Cardiff University, Wales, suggests that girls are twice as likely to have issues with social media compared to boys, with 17.1% of girls, and 9.7% of boys experiencing problems. 130,000 young people aged 11-16 in Wales took part in the 2023 survey that focused on their social media use. This was a particular problem for girls in Year 9 (13-14 year olds) and Year 10 (14-15 year olds), with 20.5% girls in Year 9 compared with 9.8% of boys, and 21% girls in Year 10 compared to 10.1% of boys experiencing problems. Girls were more likely to find it hard to set themselves limits, and they were more likely to find that their social media use led them to have arguments with friends and family. Emily van de Venter, a consultant in health improvement for PHW suggest that the problems children are experiencing with social media – girls and boys – could be the cause of the rise in anxiety and depression among teenagers. “We do see slightly higher rates of girls reporting they’ve been bullied – either in person or cyber-bullying – and we see slightly higher levels of girls using electronic devices late at night.” Emily van de Venter recommends that young people should turn off notifications, avoid taking devices into bedrooms, and not use them before going to bed. Read more here.