People say Gen Z spends too much time on their phones, but do they actually enjoy it? According to a new social media survey by psychologist Jonathan Haidt, they might not.
Haidt and his research team, The Harris Poll, collated the thoughts of 1,006 18-27-year-olds regarding social media.
While over 60% reported using social media for four or more hours a day, approximately half of them said they wished platforms like X (50%) and TikTok (47%) didn’t exist. Meanwhile, 43% of users had similar feelings about Snapchat, while 37% and 34%, respectively, said that they felt that way about Facebook and Instagram.
The social media survey results proved surprising
By contrast, the smartphone itself and platforms like Netflix and YouTube had the lowest regret rates at 21%, 17%, and 15%, respectively.
In a New York Times op-ed, Haidt argued that this data suggests that “if smartphones merely let people text each other, watch movies and search for helpful information or interesting videos (without personalized recommendation algorithms intended to hook users), there would be far less regret and resentment.”
Other notable findings included 60% of respondents agreeing that social media negatively impacts society. Although 52% of respondents said they felt social media benefits their lives, 29% said that they felt social media harms them.
The study also found that members of the LGBT community (47%) and women (44%) were more likely to report a negative mental health impact than men (31%) and those who don’t identify as LGBT (35%).
Ultimately, 69% of survey respondents said they support legislation that stipulates child-safe social media options, with Haidt concluding his op-ed by saying that platforms must “either fix their products to ensure the safety of young users or stop providing them to children altogether.”
Further reading:
- According To a New Survey, Advertisers Love Content Creators
- Here’s How Long It Takes Creators To Launch A Profitable Business, According To A New Survey
- Half of Adults in the US Would Quit Their Job To Be a Creator
- Instagram Allows Researchers to Access Data to Study Teen Mental Health
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