LONDON: A new research study has revealed that social media addiction affects 50% of British youth.
According to findings shared with The Guardian from the Millennium Cohort study, thousands of young ones have lost control over their usage of social media.
The findings come as dozens of US states are suing Instagram and its parent company, Meta, accusing them of contributing to a youth mental health crisis and as the EU has ushered in major reforms designed to give consumers more control over smartphone apps.
Of the 7,000 people who responded, 48% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “I think I am addicted to social media.”
A higher proportion of girls (57%) agreed compared to boys (37%), according to the data shared with the Guardian.
“Self-perceived social media addiction is not [necessarily] the same as drug addiction. But it’s not a nice feeling to feel you don’t have agency over your own behaviour. It’s quite striking that so many people feel like that and it can’t it be that good”, Georgia Turner, a graduate student who was part of the research said.
