– We have Snap chat, YouTube, Whats app, TikTok … The 5th graders news meets at Gamlebyen skole Oslo are mostly 10-year-olds. They have their own mobile phones and are fully up-to-date on social media. More than half of children between the ages of 9 and 11 are on social media, according to a new survey conducted by the Norwegian Media Authority. But even though usage is still high, it has decreased by 6 percentage points in the last two years. For the 10-year-olds alone, the drop is as much as 9 percentage points. – More restrictive parents Director of the Norwegian Media Authority Mari Velsand points to parents as a possible reason for the decline. – The figures may indicate that parents have become more restrictive when it comes to screen use for younger children, says Velsand. She believes it is linked to increased attention to the fact that several of the services have content that is not intended for the youngest. Director of the Norwegian Media Authority Mari Velsand believes that parents are the cause of the decline in social media use among children. – It may be that parents are more aware of privacy challenges. For children under the age of 13, it is not permitted to share or collect personal data without the parents’ consent, says Velsand. – Social media more negative for children Brain researcher and author of the book “Det digitale dopet”, Ole Petter Hjelle, thinks it is thought-provoking that children under the age of 10 spend so much time on social media. – Being on social media is mostly linked to feeling less well. We feel less satisfied when we are on social media, both children and adults. According to Hjelle, we pick up the mobile phone an average of 150 times per day. For children and young people, it provides a bleak outlook for time spent on the screen. – If we are as much on screen as we are today and we live to be 80 years old, then children and young people growing up today will have spent 11 years of their lives on screens. According to Hjelle, there are many indications that it is more negative for children’s mental health to be on social media than for adults. – The part of the brain where self-image and identity are located develops late, and is not finished until you are 25 years old, he says. The 10-year-olds are on the climbing frame, while the mobile phone is in the cupboard during school time. Photo: Kristine Hirsti / news
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Children use less social media – news Culture and entertainment
