A Majority of U.S. Teens are Taking Steps to Limit Smartphone and Social Media Use

DooKey

DooKey

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An interesting study from the Pew Research Center is showing that U.S. teens are starting to limit their use of smartphones and apps. It says 54% of teens are admitting to staying on the phones too much and almost the same percentage say they are trying to limit their use. In regards to social media and gaming they are trying to limit them by 57% and 58% respectively. This is pretty good news and I hope our youth can pry their face away from their phones because it would definitely be a good thing for society as a whole. Maybe there's hope for the next generation after all.

Fully 72% of teens say they often or sometimes check for messages or notifications as soon as they wake up, while roughly four-in-ten say they feel anxious when they do not have their cellphone with them. Overall, 56% of teens associate the absence of their cellphone with at least one of these three emotions: loneliness, being upset or feeling anxious. Additionally, girls are more likely than boys to feel anxious or lonely without their cellphone.
 
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A Majority of U.S. Teens are Taking Steps to Limit Smartphone and Social Media Use"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAA.....hahahahhahAHAHAhaHAHaHaHa....HAHAHA...HAH.

Sure they are, I also have a few bridges to sell for those who are interested.

Those teens were lying their asses off because they don't want to admit their true usage of smartphones.

They are probably trying to limit their cellphone usage with the same amount of effort as most overweight people are trying to lose weight...which would be minimal.

Maybe it's a city thing, but I cannot recall the last time I saw a teen 13+ that did NOT have a cellphone in their hands or glued to their face. Most of the time, they were walking while texting.
 
I didn't read the whole article to see if this was mentioned, but I'd wager my left nut that the overhwelming majority of those taking steps to limit their device use are not doing it on their own accord. It's a response to pressure from parents and teachers.
 
HorseproofBacon said:
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Maybe it's a city thing, but I cannot recall the last time I saw a teen 13+ that did NOT have a cellphone in their hands or glued to their face. Most of the time, they were walking while texting.
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Sample bias at it's best..... Psychologically, people tend to be pretty honest when it comes to surveys. That AND statistically, only a very minuscule group of people tend to exaggerate on a survey. Take a college course in statistics and psychology before making a blanket statement like this.
 
TrevorR said:
Sample bias at it's best..... Psychologically, people tend to be pretty honest when it comes to surveys. That AND statistically, only a very minuscule group of people tend to exaggerate on a survey. Take a college course in statistics and psychology before making a blanket statement like this.
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Can you prove any of your claims? They all sound equally subjective at best...
 
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I don't know, you might be surprised. The past few years of teenagers got smartphones in their later half of expansion, so schools and high-schools were only finally figuring out how to deal with smartphones in the classroom. The kids now arriving at university are different, which I've started to notice this year. They're definitely less obsessed with the phone, despite high usage between classes to kill time. This is probably because the kids who we're getting this fall were already born in 2000, which means they were only 7 by the time the iPhone came out. That implies that by their teenage years, schools were pretty good at curtailing smartphone usage and these kids have had that phone-control mentality instilled more than the previous generations.

All I can tell you is, in the past 5 years I kept telling people to stop using their phones in class and deducting attendance points for it. Now I barely have to do that, and when somebody uses a phone in class it's mostly as a search-tool to complete the class assignment because they forgot their laptop or something.

There might actually be something to this news.
 
HorseproofBacon said:
Can you prove any of your claims? They all sound equally subjective at best...
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Ya... Let me dig out 8 years of college work out of my attic and I'll get back to you.. Currently in MD school. Had to take and master statistics and psychology to get into medical school. We use statistics on surveys because it is reliable, even in medicine surveys are reliable. Stuff about rule of 1000's and 95% confidence intervals.

I used to be like you. A non believer in surveys and such and used sample bias quite frequently. Until I went to school and school does more than just give debt, it opens up your mind about the world around you. And the many processes involved.

EDIT: And btw, pew research is imo reliable. There are many ways in which a researcher can weed out those that aren't telling the truth.
 
TrevorR said:
Ya... Let me dig out 8 years of college work out of my attic and I'll get back to you.. Currently in MD school. Had to take and master statistics and psychology to get into medical school. We use statistics on surveys because it is reliable, even in medicine surveys are reliable. Stuff about rule of 1000's and 95% confidence intervals.

I used to be like you. A non believer in surveys and such and used sample bias quite frequently. Until I went to school and school does more than just give debt, it opens up your mind about the world around you. And the many processes involved.

EDIT: And btw, pew research is imo reliable. There are many ways in which a researcher can weed out those that aren't telling the truth.
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I'm impressed. Here are some more impressive studies that dispute what you are saying, however.

https://www.infosurv.com/5-reasons-why-survey-respondents-dont-tell-the-truth/

https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-29206289

5 Reasons When Respondents are Knowingly Dishonest:
  1. Respondents want to appear better than they are. Whether that’s cooler, richer, more beautiful – respondents lie to build their self-worth.
  2. Respondents give socially desirable answers. Survey estimates of respondent voting are always higher than actual voter turnout. That’s because you’re supposed to vote, right? So respondents lie about whether they vote or not.
  3. They don’t want to answer questions about sensitive behavior. Sex. Personal finance. Drug and alcohol use. Illegal behaviors. Respondents are always more likely to lie about sensitive topics.
  4. People want to give the answer they believe will “help” or “please” the researcher. Many people just want to help you (the researcher) out. And so they make up responses based on their belief about what you need.
  5. Respondents believe they can influence the outcome of the research in their favor. If you absolutely love the product concept, you may say you will buy it more frequently than you actually think you will, in hopes of getting it introduced into the marketplace.
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Numbers 1 and 2 on this list would be most relevant to this specific survey about cell phone usage with kids.

I figured these 5 reasons alone were common sense, but apparently they don't teach that in college these days.
 
HorseproofBacon said:
I'm impressed. Here are some more impressive studies that dispute what you are saying, however.

https://www.infosurv.com/5-reasons-why-survey-respondents-dont-tell-the-truth/

https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-29206289


I figured these 5 reasons alone were common sense, but apparently they don't teach that in college these days.
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And yet, I don't see anywhere in those articles where the posts were made by ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS from ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS. If I ever used those as sources in the thousands of papers I had to write. I would've gotten a big fat ZERO.

If anything, these posts were made by journalists who probably got their associates in journalism (judgemental me).

Try again.
 
TrevorR said:
And yet, I don't see anywhere in those articles where the posts were made by ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS from ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS. If I ever used those as sources in the thousands of papers I had to write. I would've gotten a big fat ZERO.
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Then you should have no problem offering a counter other than your base opinion correct? So far, you haven't offered anything of substance beyond mere opinion.
 
The building I work at is two levels but a very large 'L', people constantly walking the halls getting around or just walking to exercise. It's crazy how many walk staring down at their phones. I've gotten to where I feel like playing chicken with them to see if they are really just going to walk into me because they are so engaged in the phone.

Not going to pretend I don't glance at my phone for one reason or another, I think most do. But these people are so locked on it nothing else around them registers.
 
When people stop playing on phones in bathrooms I'll start believing them.

The young people can be responsible articles are crap, I TOO was young once and by god I had taped batteries together to make my handhelds last longer.

Literally noticed a guy texting and trying to urinate when I was last at the movie theatre...... Failed at both.
 
TrevorR said:
Sample bias at it's best..... Psychologically, people tend to be pretty honest when it comes to surveys. That AND statistically, only a very minuscule group of people tend to exaggerate on a survey. Take a college course in statistics and psychology before making a blanket statement like this.
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Same here. You can also include the adults also. If they don't have the phone in their face they got ear buds/beat headphones on not giving a fuck walking right into the street without looking.
 
HorseproofBacon said:
Then you should have no problem offering a counter other than your base opinion correct? So far, you haven't offered anything of substance beyond mere opinion.
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For starters, the thing you are referring to is 'Response Bias' where people tend to exaggerate their responses. There are many ways around this. Most likely what Pew did is they conduct numerous surveys. They'll get 1000 random people to do the survey and look at the numbers. They'll also recruit and select 1000 more from a specific pool (City/state/area etcc.) to do the survey and look at the numbers. They'll repeat this in different cities/ states/ areas etc.

Reason why I chose the number 1,000? Well look up the rule of 1000.

So they take all of these different surveys that were done multiple times using different strategies to see if the numbers are consistent. And in this case, I'm assuming that they were since Pew Research wouldn't post it unless it was.

For example, they surveyed 1000 teens in NYC then in LA then in Miami etc etc. They either chose the surveyers or did it randomly. These are just two strategies. So most likely what pew did is probably did 20 surveys doing different strategies and saw that the numbers were consistent across the board.

They do this same shit in medicine and with everything else.
 
"Trying" does not always equate with "taking steps". EXAMPLE: You might know you need to lose weight and you are trying to eat less, but you just cant end up eating less. So in that way you are not taking steps to eat less
 
I don't consider lowering your use to only 18 hours a day an actual effort to reduce. It's just simply getting more sleep...
 
....or all the teens are trolling the survey?? :) Seriously the majority could be getting bored after years of social media and phones. They've just moved onto playing Nintendo Switches.
 
TrevorR said:
We use statistics on surveys because it is reliable, even in medicine surveys are reliable.
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I agree with you on this. Results are often surprisingly accurate. What I will say about this particular study is: most of us here aren't teenagers and most of us don't remember just what it was like. Teenagers are incredibly receptive to the idea that social media is corrupt, and their minds are quite capable of challenging false narratives. Their minds are still able to adapt and reject things that are harmful. The concept that everybody is weak and susceptible and must be protected or forced to do thing is completely against the reality that we as a species got here today, often doing dumb things, yes, but alive and well. The point being that in a regime like China where they ban gaming as dangerous to the mind I think you'll find more severe and lasting negatives - especially when it comes to social media - than you do in Western countries. It surprises me not one bit that the people who were predicting doom and gloom with technology embedded in our children's lives will end up being proven dead wrong. All the more reason to challenge their decisions based on such guesses.
 
times will change, and eventually it'll be a thing of the past that a few of the "old people" still do, which is cellphone use+social media+youtube etc..

young generations always find something new to trend towards to stray away from what the old farts are doing.
 
trying =/= succeeding.

they're still on the phones all day. And it's exacerbated by the how they use the phone to try to avoid eye contact with people.
 
I think the survey is wrong... all you have to do is look around you to see how many people are playing with their phones.. its' a lot
 
Survey might have meant more if it had listed the steps the teens were taking to limit screen time. Playing only 100 turns of your empire building game while in school vs your normal 102 isn't really going to make a big difference.
 
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