A new survey of both parents and teens examines how families deal with the issue of smartphone use, and some findings are more surprising than others. It contains.
The main finding, which comes as no surprise, is that around 40% of families have repeated arguments over the amount of time their teens spend on their phones…
screen time for teens
According to Pew Research, 10% of respondents said they often argue about this, and a further 28% said this happens “sometimes.”
Three quarters of parents think this issue is important and 15% say it is a top priority. When it comes to actually setting screen time limits, parents are almost evenly split between those who do and those who don't, but this seems to be mainly related to the age of the teenager. Approximately 62% of parents set limits for their 13-year-old and her 14-year-old teens, but for 15- to 17-year-olds, that drops to 37%.
However, some teens want to limit their screen time, with 38% feeling they spend too much time on their phones.
Parent viewing time
Many parents admit that they too spend too much time on their phones, with 47% agreeing with this statement. About 31% of them admit to being distracted by their cell phones while talking to their teens.
However, they don't seem to realize that full The magnitude is significant, with 46% of teens reporting these distracting conversations.
Parent spying on teen's cell phone
Exactly 50% of parents say they sometimes look at their teens' smartphones, and 43% of teens say they know this happens.
This is also age related. Parental voyeurism reaches 64% for 13-year-olds and her 14-year-olds, but drops to 41% for 15- to 17-year-olds.
Teens' assessment of smartphone impact
70% of teens say the benefits of smartphones outweigh the harms. In particular, they say cell phones can help them pursue hobbies and interests, be creative, and do well in school. Conversely, they believe that smartphone use makes it difficult to develop social skills.
When asked how they feel when they don't have a cell phone, more teens described positive emotions than negative ones. The most common responses were “happy” and “peaceful,” with far fewer people saying they felt anxious, upset, or lonely.
You can read the detailed report here.
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