Science & Technology, Australia (Commonwealth Union) – The internet offers a wide variety of content from lengthy movies to shorter video clips, podcasts and more. The increased internet usage among younger children and adolescents via elevated smartphone usage, particularly with the use of social media with algorithms designed to have its users spend more and more time.
The absence of parents or their unavailability to spend sufficient time with their kids has often been linked to the vulnerability of children to internet addiction, however a new study carried out by the University of Sydney Business School study made an astonishing finding.
The study revealed that teenagers who feel well-supported by their parents had an increased chance of reporting higher internet addiction over time.
The study focused on almost 3,000 adolescents across 4 critical years of development, from Year 8 to Year 11 who were between 14-17 years old, while evaluating the association between social support and compulsive use of the internet.
Astonishingly, teenagers indicating high social backing from parents had an increased chance of reporting compulsive internet use later. Teenagers that indicated compulsive use had an increased chance of reporting lower social support from teachers later.
Compulsive internet use, which is also known as problematic internet use, refers to the hardship in regulating internet use, regularly manifesting withdrawal symptoms, rumination about being online when not online, and disengagement from every day engagements.
Dr James Donald, lead investigator and Senior Lecturer in Work and Organisational Studies, stated that the study became further relevant with the unexpected hassle of COVID-19 lockdowns resulting in young people having longer periods online.
Dr Donald further explained that the internet and social media were radically altering the way young people engage in their social environment. Recent surveys have discovered that US adolescents spend roughly 7 hours of non-school or study time online daily.
“As the online world plays an increasing role in young peoples’ lives, and given the social richness of the online world, we need to better understand how compulsive internet use influences adolescents’ social support – and vice versa. Do high levels of online activity strengthen or erode young peoples’ social support?” said Dr Donald.
Drawing on ecological systems theory, researchers explored the longitudinal associations between adolescents’ compulsive internet utilization as well as perceived social backing involving 3 sources: parents, teachers and friends.
“Perceived social support is an inherently subjective belief that people care for them and are willing to help when needed. It may not match the extent that others think they are being supportive, but perceived support is most strongly linked to wellbeing,” Dr Donald explained.
A total of 2,809 students attending 17 Catholic high schools in New South Wales and Queensland participated in the evaluation, finishing a survey three-quarters of the way via the school year from Years 8 to 11.
The findings, appeared in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. The study discovered that on average adolescents spend time on the internet with increased intensity as they move through high school,
The backing from friends was consistently greater than backing from parents and teachers across the 4 years of the study, and parental backing was marginally lower over the course of grades 8 to 11.
Dr Donald also indicated that the greatest surprise was that parental social support led adolescents to experience increased compulsive internet use over time, which resulted in reduced support from teachers.
Dr Donald believes the reason for this astonishing discovery was down to teen’s perception of what compromises parental support.
“There are several ways parents can manage the threat of internet addiction. They can take no action, co-use or joint access the internet, discuss usage in a positive way, monitor, and/or set rules and limits, which may involve punishment,” said Dr Donald.
Many families have set rules such as no smart phones during meals or family activities which seem to be further validated with the study.
