Canadian Teens Have Some of the Lowest Levels of ‘Problematic’ Social Media Use in the World: McGill Study

Canadian teens are among the least likely in the world to report high levels of “problematic” social media use, according to a new study from McGill University.

The study, conducted by Zékai Lu, a PhD student in McGill’s department of sociology, looked at data from 171,500 adolescents across 41 countries, and compared their social media use and health indicators.

Problematic social media use, as defined by the study, was measured using nine factors also observed in internet addiction and gaming disorders, such as withdrawal, deception, and neglect of daily life.

Meanwhile, strong family relationships, supportive friendships, and healthy daily habits, such as regular physical activity, significantly reduced the risk of problematic social media use, the study noted.

Lu found that teens in Canada, along with those in Nordic countries and parts of Central Europe, had the lowest levels of problematic social media use, with about 3.4 percent of adolescents showing “highly problematic behaviour,” and 67 percent scoring “low” for these behaviours.

Teens in Southern and Eastern Europe had higher levels of problematic social media use, where 6.6 percent of adolescents showed highly problematic behaviour and 41.3 percent scored low. Those living in Western and Central European countries had lower levels, with 5.4 percent of teens demonstrating “highly problematic” behaviour and 57 percent scoring low.

The study, published in the journal Addictive Behaviors in January, found positive family relationships and healthy lifestyles protected against problematic use, while lower economic resources increased risk of problematic social media use.

Lu noted that the quality of family relationships a teen has influenced their social media use the most, insulating them from unhealthy habits with online platforms and “emphasizing the importance of the family environment as the most immediate social context for adolescent development.”

The study also found that teens with lower economic resources lacked access to leisure resources, which resulted in higher levels of social media use as “low-cost” entertainment or substitute for extracurricular activities.

Lu also noted teens from lower-income households may feel more social comparison and “status anxiety,” and may turn to social media use to compensate as a way to “acquire social capital and recognition” through virtual social networks.

He also noted that social media platforms amplify pressures teens feel to fit in and compete with others, by presenting “constant opportunities for social comparison and continuous curation of online personas, potentially leading to compulsive usage patterns.”

The data used in the study was drawn from the World Health Organization’s Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey completed in 2017/2018.