CHe rewritten with a smartphone in his hand, constantly connected, accustomed to living and showing himself on social media. Nevertheless, Almost half of the boys between 16 and 21 years old today dreams of a world without the Internet. It is not a provocation from Boomer, but the disturbing result of a study conducted by British Standards Institution And Published by Guardianwho listened to the voice of over 1,200 young people.
Young and social: 70% feel worse after being on social media
The photograph that emerges is merciless. The 68% of interviewees say that the time spent online has a negative impact on their own mental health. The 70% it feels worse After spending time on social media. And the 46% It would even be willing to renounce the internet completely, if he could live his youth elsewhere, in a different era.
Perhaps the most impressive data? One in four passes more than Four hours a day on social media. A habit that, in the long run, leaves deep signs: anxiety, insomnia, a sense of inadequacy, dependence. It is the invisible effort of a hyperconnex generation, but increasingly fragile.
Fake accounts, invented identities: how adolescents escape control
According to the report, 42% of young people lied to the age to access platforms that otherwise would be prohibited. 40% created Secondary or fake accountsand 27% admitted to having fake of being another person online. A widespread dynamic that reveals how insecure and manipulable the relationship between real identity and digital identity can be.
In many cases, these are attempts to escape judgments, controls or social pressures. But there is also another side of the medal: the concrete risk of exposing itself to dangerous content or unknown peopleas shown by the fact that the 27% He shared his position in real time with strangers.
Post pandemic effects and digital curfew for social networks
Three out of four young people said they had spent again More time online due to Covid. Not only a distance school and video calls, but also social isolation, frustration, infinite hours spent shaking content on Tiktok or Instagram. In an age where the world should be experienced, many found themselves trapped in a screen.
And now that the pandemic is (almost) behind, its consequences remain. Like the request – increasingly shared – of a “Digital curfew”: 50% of respondents would approve the idea of limiting the use of social apps after 22:00.
What can we do? The words of the experts
The British government has already hinted the possibility of introducing mandatory time limits for apps such as Tiktok or Instagram, especially for the youngest. But for many experts – like Rani Govenderpolicy manager of the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) – It is not enough. «A digital curfew alone will not protect children from risks. They could see the same content at other times of the day, “he told the Guardian. “A deeper intervention is needed by companies and institutions to make social networks safer and less dependent.”
A problem also in Italy: rules and awareness are needed
Even if the study concerns the United Kingdom, the phenomenon has important resonances also in Italywhere always More teenagers show digital stress signalsdependence on social and psychological discomfort. The request for structural protections, more severe digital education and regulations is more urgent and ever, both at the family and institutional level.
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