Teens who wake up to access social media at night report feeling tired at school: Study
19 Jan 2017
One in five teens regularly woke up in the night to send or check messages on social media, which made them three times more likely to feel constantly tired at school than their peers who did not log on at night, a new UK study warned.
According to researchers at Wales Institute for Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD) in the UK, girls were much more likely to access their social media accounts during the night than boys.
They warned that the night-time activity could be affecting happiness and well-being in the young people. More than 900 pupils, between the age of 12-15 years, were recruited for the study. They were then asked to complete a questionnaire about how often they woke up at night to use social media and times of going to bed and waking.
They also answered questions regarding how happy they were about various aspects of their life including school life, friendships and appearance.
While one in five reported 'almost always' waking up to log on, girls were much more likely to access their social media accounts during the night than boys.
The study found that pupils who woke up to use social media every night, or the ones who did not have usual waking up times, were found to be three times more likely to say that they felt tired at school compared as against their peers who never logged on at night or those who woke up at the same time in morning.
Also those who said they felt tired at school were found to be less happy than other teenagers.
''Our research shows that a small but significant number of children and young people say that they often go to school feeling tired – and these are the same young people who also have the lowest levels of wellbeing,'' said Sally Power, professor at WISERD, PTI reported.
''One in five young people questioned woke up every night and over one third wake-up at least once a week to check for messages. Use of social media appears to be invading the 'sanctuary' of the bedroom,'' said Power.
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