Teens’ strategies for limiting time spent surfing

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During a long holiday period like the one we just went through, many parents spend more time with their teenagers and monitor their screen time in the hope that they will get outside. They will be keeping an eye on one type of behavior in particular: time spent scrolling .

In particular, doomscrolling , which involves scrolling endlessly across the screen of a phone, computer or tablet, has become widespread especially since the Covid-19 crisis and poses significant health problems. By processing too much information, those who engage in this activity run the risk of suffering from anxiety and cognitive overload .

My research, however, gives us reason for optimism. Surveying 252 young people aged 11 to 19, I found that teens have more than one trick up their sleeve to avoid online temptation .

A socially shared phenomenon

Before we get into them, it should be noted that doomscrolling is by no means a generational phenomenon. As Internet users, we are all exposed to the strategies implemented by platforms to encourage us to stay connected as long as possible.

The attention-grabbing industry affects us all, whatever our age or condition, from the moment we start using connected devices. In fact, many teenagers point out the less than exemplary use of smartphones by adults , like Nicolas, aged 14:

“My stepdad spends an incredible amount of time on Facebook and then he’s like, ‘Hey, take it easy on Snapchat, Nico.’”

Lucy, 16, knows all too well that the connected society we live in makes smartphones essential everyday objects in professional, academic or personal spheres. She calls on adults to be more self-aware:

“It’s not just me, or the young people, who have to stop this, parents are no better and can’t control things better than us.”

Between guilt and coping strategies

Mobile phones play a prominent role in the digital lives of teenagers. These devices satisfy certain social needs , as well as many informational needs , in relation to news or topics related to their interests or school activities.

When I hear teenagers talk about their relationship with their phones, I am struck by the guilt that emanates from their conversations. For example, 17-year-old Ambre confesses:

“Sometimes you feel bad about yourself, because it ruins your sleep, family time, and the time you should be spending doing homework or doing things outdoors.”

However, Melvin points out:

“The time you spend [on the phone] makes you very anxious, but it’s also difficult because you can’t shut out the world either. You need a balance, you know?”

Teenagers seek this balance, deploying various strategies to try to control their time, their hobbies and even their self-esteem: “When I waste time like this, I feel terrible,” says Romane, 17.

The most common of these strategies involves turning on “airplane” or “do not disturb” mode on your phone, hoping to improve your focus on a task. Some people make more radical decisions, such as not installing an app they have identified as potentially problematic for them. This is the case for 17-year-old Geoffrey, who has “chosen not to download TikTok precisely because it takes too much time.”

Another common strategy is to temporarily uninstall an app “just long enough to take the edge off” from the flood of notifications, says Juliette, 17. This strategy is mostly adopted by high school students, either during intense periods of revision or when they are suffering from information overload:

“Sometimes I notice it, I feel oppressed by it and I can’t take it anymore, so I uninstall the app. I immediately feel better and as if the pressure has gone away, and when I feel that I have calmed down a bit, so to speak, I reinstall the app . I can’t stop using it, it’s not possible, I need it, I like it, I learn things with it, I also follow the news with it.”

Apolline, 16 years old.

Education, the best enemy of doomscrolling

These interviews raise the question of how adults can support adolescents in their efforts to avoid information overload.

Of course, the idea of ​​imposing strict control is illusory, and even counterproductive, as it would only generate frustration. Moreover, such a measure does not train or instil a sense of responsibility in adolescents . Addressing this problem requires an educational response at several levels.

First of all, it seems essential to consider this issue for what it is: a socially shared problem that has everyone looking for tips on how not to get lost in the flow. To encourage concentration, it is best to disable as many notifications as possible from the apps that consume the most time. Moreover, too much of everything ends up cancelling out the pleasure one can get from individual apps or platforms: the more you control the time you spend online, the more you will enjoy it.

That said, to understand what leads us to doomscrolling , we need to learn about the dynamics of the attention economy , and understand in detail the processes that we go through when we are confronted with the strategies implemented by digital industries ( dark pattern , emotional design ), in particular.

Governments should also step in. For example, the EU Digital Markets Act is a good step in the right direction to protect internet users and provide a counterweight to the economic and industrial power of platforms.

Given its almost existential importance in the true sense of the word, we should equip our young people with media skills, including strategies on how to deal with information overload. All teenagers talk about their difficulties in dealing with this information overload and the processes involved in its uptake, but also, and above all, they talk about their desire to share quality time with others, including their families.

Teenagers have told me about their desire to be informed and empowered to act in relation to the world around them . So we can only recommend them and ourselves to subscribe to “positive media” whose mission is to inform us with happy news. Not only can we feed the algorithms in another way by imposing on them another desired world, ours, but we can also share information that makes us feel good and enriches social interaction.

Finally, slowing down versus speeding up is a political issue of the first order. Because slowing down means taking time to reflect and mature our thoughts. A civic quality. And that could even mean scrolling together.

Author Bio: Anne Cordier is University Professor of Information and Communication Sciences at the University of Lorraine

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