Six out of ten 18-year-olds use the Internet for four hours or more a day, the Service for Intervention in Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies (SICAD) announced this week.
According to the same source, five out of ten young people in this age group use social media for four hours or more. Online research, games, and betting are other activities that young people engage in during the indicated period.
The study identified that three out of 10 young people at that age “have recently experienced one of seven problems” that they attributed to the use of the internet (31%), mainly in situations of emotional distress (18%).
The data are contained in the report “Addictive Behaviours at the Age of 18: consumption of psychoactive substances – survey of young people participating in National Defence Day 2022.”
Boys are more likely to become addicted at an earlier age and are more intensive in their internet use.
“On the other hand, girls tend to spend more time on social media than boys,” but both suffer from similar problems.
“Indicators of more intensive use (six hours or more per day) have remained relatively stable. However, globally, the prevalence of young people who remain on the internet for five hours or more per day increased by 11 percentage points between 2017 and 2022,” the authors of the document said.
Addictive Behaviours at the Age of 18 – Survey of young people participating in the National Defence Day, is a research and monitoring project that is based on a national survey of all 18-year-olds taking part in the National Defence Day, which has been held on an annual basis since 2015, with the exception of 2020 due to the pandemic.
The survey is carried out through an anonymous questionnaire on the consumption of psychoactive substances and the use of the internet, in partnership with the Ministry of National Defence.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
Photo: JM
