Two in three older teenagers here show signs of excessive internet use, study finds

A study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (Esri) found that 62pc of teenagers aged 17-18 reported displaying one or more of six recognised signs of excessive internet use (EIU) with 7pc saying they experienced at least five of the known symptoms.

It also revealed that females were significantly more likely to be at risk from EIU than males, while conflict with parents and spending time home alone were identified as risk factors.

The study analysed data on over 5,000 young people born in 1998 which was obtained as part of the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal research.

Signs of excessive internet use include when someone feels bothered if they cannot be on the internet, surfing when not really interested, spending less time with family and friends, and reduced studying time.

Other signs are unsuccessfully trying to spend less time on the internet, becoming annoyed when a parent asks them to stop using the internet and going without eating or sleeping because of the internet.

One of the main authors of the report, Gretta Mohan, said the study sought to provide a greater understanding as to how parenting factors during a young person’s early adolescence could contribute to EIU in their later teenage years.

Ms Mohan, an ESRI economist, said there was no statistically significant association between efforts by parents to control internet use by their children when they were 13 years and EIU in later adolescence.

However, the study did find that how parents deal with misbehaviour is a strong predictor of excessive internet use.

The research found that teenagers whose parents used corporal punishment, deprivation of privileges, psychological aggression and chores as penalties were more likely to display symptoms of EIU.

The results also showed that regularly playing games or sports together with their parents limited the potential for females to show signs of EIU.

Ms Mohan said the dearth of research on factors influencing EIU among teenagers in Ireland was “particularly glaring” as the HSE had specifically identified internet use as a behaviour to which one could become addicted in 2019.

The ESRI economist said the research findings showed that various disciplinary techniques used by parents in response to misbehaviour seemed to be an important determinant of EIU symptoms.

Ms Mohan said the effect of parent-child conflict on a teenager having more EIU symptoms was almost twice as large for females as males.

She said it was reassuring for parents that the study found no evidence that granting greater independence to their children could lead them to engage in problem behaviours such as EIU, although she acknowledged that the finding would appear “counterintuitive”.

She said the results also indicated that the influence of negative parenting patterns is stronger than that of positive parenting habits.

The study also found teenagers from higher income households and whose parents were aged 50 or over and college educated are more likely to have more EIU symptoms.

However, Ms Mohan said this finding could be explained by higher income households being more likely to have better internet connections and better access to internet devices.

She said the positive association discovered between parental education and EIU was “somewhat surprising”, but was possibly explained by college-educated parents having longer working hours with associated less time to adequately supervise internet use by their children.

Ms Mohan said the study’s findings could be incorporated into public awareness campaigns to inform parents how they might modify their parenting behaviour to guard against the development of EIU in their children.

She pointed out that parents might think direct supervision of internet use was sufficient to prevent the development of an unhealthy relationship with the internet.

However, Ms Mohan said the research had provided no evidence that such supervision was effective in preventing EIU.