Summary: A study conducted by Australian researchers on over 50,000 children aged 7-19 found that nighttime phone use reduced sleep and increased psychological distress, especially among children who experienced cyberbullying. The study, published in Adolescents, highlights the link between poor sleep, mental health struggles, and smartphone habits. Teenage girls were found to be particularly vulnerable due to their higher rates of nighttime phone use and earlier exposure to social media.
Key Takeaways:
- Nighttime Phone Use Reduces Sleep and Increases Stress: The study found that children who use their phones at night get less sleep and experience higher levels of psychological distress, with teenage girls being particularly affected.
- Cyberbullying Intensifies the Effects: Children who were cyberbullied reported higher rates of nighttime phone use and were more likely to suffer from sleep deprivation and increased stress compared to those who were not bullied.
- Girls Are More Vulnerable: Pre-teen and teenage girls showed the highest rates of nighttime phone use, making them more prone to sleep deprivation and mental health challenges, especially when coupled with cyberbullying.
Combine cyberbullying, smartphone use, lack of sleep, and poor mental health, and you have the perfect storm for a teenage meltdown.
Australian researchers have polled more than 50,000 primary and secondary school students aged 7-19 years about the link between their sleep and nighttime phone habits, experience of cyberbullying, and stress levels.
Researchers from the Behaviour-Brain-Body Research Centre at the University of South Australia found that across all genders and age groups, phone use overnight not only robbed children of sleep, but it also had a negative impact on their mental health, especially among those who had been cyberbullied.
Whether one habit causes or stems from another is not clear. The findings are published in the journal Adolescents.
Cyberbullying and Sleep Deprivation in Teens
Approximately 66% of teenage girls and 58% of teenage boys (aged 12-19 years) reported being cyberbullied at least once in the preceding school term. Among the girls, 17% said they slept less than eight hours a night, and the corresponding figure for the teenage boys was 13%.
Stress levels in the moderate-to-severe range were reported by 38% of teenage girls and 23% of teenage boys.
While cyberbullying and lack of sleep were not as common in primary-aged children (7-11 years), one in five reported moderate-to-severe stress.
The Impact of Nighttime Phone Use
For the purposes of the study, “nighttime” refers to phone use when children are supposed to be sleeping, not prior to bed.
UniSA researcher and co-author Stephanie Centofanti, PhD, says that girls are particularly vulnerable because their smartphone use at night is higher than other age groups, and they start using social media at a younger age.
“We found that frequency of nighttime phone use and getting less than eight hours sleep a night not only peaked in early adolescence but was also more evident in young girls,” Centofanti says in a release. “Pre-teens are at higher risk for socio-emotional disorders because they are at a developmental stage where they are less prepared cognitively, behaviourally and neurobiologically.”
Gender Differences in Bullying and Smartphone Use
The researchers say that outside of the digital environment, boys are more likely to be physically bullied, while girls normally resort to psychological or relational bullying, which is more easily enabled online.
Approximately 15% of children in the study reported being cyberbullied, with a higher frequency of boys in primary school and girls in secondary school.
More than one-third of primary school children and over 60% of teenagers in the study reported using their phone at night when they were supposed to be sleeping.
Of the children who experienced cyberbullying, almost 75% admitted they checked their phone throughout the night, compared to less than half for those who had never been cyberbullied.
“It is clear that parents need to pay closer attention to managing smartphone use at night, particularly if their children are more vulnerable to cyberbullying, and to ensure their children get enough sleep,” Centofanti says in a release.
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