More teenagers addicted to social media but say that they are good at distractions

A new survey shows that most US teens are constantly using social media and half admit that it distracts them from watching and talking to people right in front of them.

Smartphone apps wake kids up at night and distract them from homework, according to the Common Sense Media survey.

There is no surprise for anyone who knows a teenager, but the survey also shows that teenagers are very aware of the pitfalls of using social media. They suspect that social media companies are trying to manipulate them, and they deny that their constant use of Instagram, Snapchat and other applications makes them lonely.

"Social media has transformed the teens and lives of millions and millions of teens," said Jim Steyer, CEO and founder of Common Sense Media, which conducts research on the use of social media. media.

"Teens even told us in this historical report that they were distracted from their friends, their homework and their sleep," Steyer told NBC News. "Many teens feel addicted to social media."

Common Sense interviewed over 1,100 teenagers aged 13 to 17 for about three weeks in the spring and found some surprises. The survey reveals that teenagers are not insane slaves to their smartphones.

"Teenagers are often described as being insensitive to the consequences of spending so much time on their smartphones," the report says.

"In fact, our survey reveals that teens are fully aware of the power of devices to distract them from key priorities, such as homework, sleep, and time with friends and family.

More than half – 57% – said that social media prevented them from doing their homework and 54% admitted that they sometimes ignored the people they were paying attention to on social media. And 29% said that a text or other notification had woken them up at night.

"A lot of teens (44%) are frustrated with their friends being so much on their phones when they are together," the report says.

There is no doubt that mobile devices dominate young people's lives. More than 80% of the teens surveyed reported using social media.

This is no more than in 2012, but now, 70% of respondents say they use social networks several times a day, against only one third in 2012, according to the survey.

Applications often lead this. An example is the "series" of Snapchat, in which users must send at least one message each day to certain friends and acquaintances.

And while teens do not necessarily fight by refusing to be involved, they are at least aware of what is happening, the report said.

"Nearly three out of four teens (72%) think technology companies are manipulating users to spend more time on their devices," the report says.

"We find it very encouraging that teenagers are very aware that social media companies like Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook are manipulating them. This means they are increasingly aware that these companies do not necessarily have their interests at heart, "said Steyer.

But teens love technology. The proportion of teens who say their favorite way of communicating with their friends in person has gone from 49% in 2012 to 32% in 2018.

This is not all negative. A quarter of the teens surveyed said that these apps allowed them to feel less lonely and only 3% of respondents reported using them to feel more isolated.

"A major difference since our study five years ago is that teens prefer to send SMS," said Steyer. "They prefer to literally send SMS messages rather than talking to someone face to face or on the phone. As a parent, I do not like that.

Parents can and should limit the time spent on mobile devices and the use of social media, Steyer said.

"We need to get rid of devices, social networks and platforms," ​​he said, "far from looking at phone screens and out in the wild."

"It will not go away. The genie is out of the bottle. It's a reality in our children's lives, but we can provide them with advice and judgment on how best to use social media in a positive way. "