Teenage girls report more problematic social media use than boys

Twice as many girls in secondary school said they had problems relating to social media use compared with boys, a survey has found.

One in five girls aged between 13 and 15 reported problems, such as struggling to limit time on social media or it causing conflict with families and friends, compared with one in 10 boys of the same age.

The results are part of one of the largest surveys of school children in Wales.

Public Health Wales (PHW), which conducted the study with Cardiff University, said the reason behind the different rates was not clear cut.

Students aged between 11 and 16 were asked a number of questions about their social media use.

These included whether they neglected other activities such as sport and hobbies to use social media, or whether using social media was always at the forefront of their minds.

The different rates for boys and girls was most stark in Year 9 and 10.

A total of 21% of girls in Year 10 (14-15 year olds) and 20.5% in Year 9 (13-14 year olds) reported the highest rate of problematic social media use, compared with 10.1% and 9.8% of boys in the same year groups.

The overall figure for Wales was 17.1% for girls and 9.7% for boys.

Lois, 13, said how much she uses her phone depends on what she has on.

She plays sports and goes to clubs and likes seeing her friends at weekends.

"I'll go on my phone if I've got nothing else to do," she said.

"Sometimes after school, it's nice to be able to sit down and look at what everyone else is doing in the world and not having to think about anything, just watch something.

"It surprises me sometimes how fast [time goes], when I sit down and then two hours would go [by] and I didn't realise, and it's kind of shocking sometimes that happens," she added.

Beth, 14, said she enjoys looking at what other people are doing and keeping in touch with friends she does not see often.

"I think it's good not to have access [to phones] in school, you can socialise with friends more and it doesn't distract you in classes but if you want to contact your parents, maybe it's an issue then," she said.

"I don't get distracted by my phone if I do other things such as sport and if I'm downstairs at home, I'll keep my phone upstairs so I don't get distracted," she added.

Emily van de Venter is a consultant in health improvement for PHW.

She said there were benefits to social media, but a concerning number of young people were reporting negative effects.

She also said the problems children were experiencing with social media could be one of the factors behind a rise in depression and anxiety among teenagers.

Ms van de Venter said potentially girls were more prone to social comparison.

"We do see slightly higher rates of girls reporting they've been bullied - either in person or cyber-bullying - and we see slightly higher levels of girls using electronic devices late at night, for example," she said.

"But it is not as clear cut in terms of what is leading to this gender difference."

She recommended turning off notifications, avoiding taking devices into bedrooms and not using them before bed.

The survey which is carried out every other year asks students in Years 7 to 11 questions about various areas of their lives, including mental health, sex and relationships and school life.

130,000 young people completed this latest survey, carried out in 2023.

The problems with young people using social media and smartphones are well documented.

An Estyn report published on 8 May said in a few schools in Wales older girls were displaying more challenging behaviour than previously seen and often had outbursts in behaviour as a result of a breakdown in friendship groups, fallouts from social media activity and low self-esteem.

A debate will take place in the Senedd on 14 May to discuss banning smart phones in schools.