In summary: Norwegian youth spend more time on screens and fitness centers, and less time on reading and homework. Research from the Welfare Research Institute NOVA shows that leisure habits have changed a lot in the last ten years, mainly due to increased screen use. Junior high school students are divided into five different groups according to what they do in their free time: Those who spend the most time with friends, the most home-oriented, the least digital, the most risk-oriented and the most cultural. Most young people are “most often with friends” and “most home-oriented”, with an increase in these groups over time. Screen use has not led to less physical activity among young people. The use of training centers has increased in recent years, from 21 per cent in 2014 to 34 per cent now. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I spend my free time working out, being with friends and working on schoolwork. This is how Jared Sisay (14) sums up his free time. The 10th grader from Lillehammer does not hide that he is also a part of the screen. – I’m mostly on the phone, playing games and relaxing. Last week he used the phone for over seven hours on average per day. Screens, either in the form of telephones, computers or televisions, take up more of young people’s free time now than before. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB He is not alone in spending much of his free time in front of a screen. Researchers at the Welfare Research Institute NOVA have looked at the leisure habits of junior high school students over the past ten years. It shows that leisure habits have changed a lot in ten years. The main reason? Increase screen usage. – Big changes – Norwegian youth’s leisure habits have gone through big changes in the last ten years, with a clear increase in time spent on digital activities, says NOVA researcher Anders Bakken. At the same time, the time young people spend on school work has decreased. The report on the leisure habits of young people is based on responses from over 500,000 secondary school students in Norway over the past ten years. The answer comes from the Ungdata survey. Anders Bakken is a researcher at NOVA and has looked at how the leisure habits of young people have changed in the last ten years. Photo: Tom Balgaard / news The researchers have divided secondary school students from all over the country into five different groups according to what they do in their spare time: Those who are most often with friends, the most home-oriented, the least digital, the most risk-oriented and the most cultural. – These different types give a good picture of the diversity in young people’s free time today, says Bakken. It is most young people who are “most often with veins” and “most home-oriented”. These groups have increased over time. The biggest increase is for the home-oriented, who went from 18 per cent to 27 per cent in ten years. The number of the least digital has had the largest decrease, from 35 per cent in 2014 to 19 per cent now. There has also been a decrease in the number of “the most cultural” from 12 to 9 per cent. There has been a slight increase in the number of “the most risk-oriented”. Brain researchers believe that a lot of screen use is as dangerous as smoking. Read why here. Not at the expense of physical activity Increased screen use has affected young people’s free time in various ways, according to the researcher. – Some have moved home, while others are moving out more. Some highlights from the report: Young people spend significantly more time in front of screens now than ten years ago, especially on social media. They also spend more time watching TV, series or YouTube, and playing computer games. The time young people spend on school work has decreased noticeably. Young people spend less time reading books. Fewer people participated in culturally oriented leisure activities. Young people spend more of their free time at home in the evenings than ten years ago, and they visit friends less often. At the same time, they are a little more often out in the evenings with friends. The use of leisure clubs has been stable. Increased screen time does not seem to have affected physical activity. The use of training centers has increased noticeably, while participation in sports teams has been relatively stable. The use of drugs has been fairly common. The proportion of young people involved in breaking the rules has increased in several areas. – There has been some concern that increased screen use will lead to young people becoming less physically active. We see no sign of that. – They are as physically active now as they were ten years ago, but there are different groups of young people who are physically active and physically inactive. Several trainers at the 14-year-old’s training center in Lillehammer recognize the results from the report. – I pick up the phone a lot when I really shouldn’t. It can actually be a bit disturbing, he says. Oisann, 14-year-old Yared Sisay must have been on the phone for several hours this week. This is slightly more than the 37 percent who state that they spend 2–3 hours on social media daily, in the new report from NOVA. Photo: Ida Lillebo / news – I’m just going to check this and that, and suddenly a lot of time has gone by that I could have spent on other things. Other things such as working out at the gym. It is something he intends to start doing. According to the report, the use of fitness centers among junior high school students has increased in recent years. The proportion of young people who train at a fitness center at least once a week has increased from 21 per cent in 2014 to 34 per cent now. – I don’t do it now, but I have plans to do it, says Sisay. Here you can read what some other young people spend their free time doing: Ida Lillebo / news Tuva Sels-Agersten (15): – I play a lot of music, both in band and orchestra, she says. She is also a part of friends, works with school work and other tasks. Ida Lillebo / news Mahad Mohammed (15): – I spend my free time playing football. I do a lot with that, he says. Some time is also spent in front of the screen, both playing TV games and being on the phone. Ida Lillebo / news Ada Haugen Bråthen (15): – I train at a training center several times a week, I also have veins. That’s what I managed, she says. Else, she spends some time on schoolwork as well, but it varies from week to week. Ida Lillebo / news Alva Emilie Flølo Stensrud (15): – I ride horses and spend many hours in the stable, she says. – But it can easily happen that I spend a few hours on the phone as well. If I’ve sat down to scroll a bit first, time flies. Most people are doing well. The NOVA researcher believes it is important to have an overview of what young people do in their spare time. – Adolescence is a phase of life where you have to find out who you are. That is what many people do by engaging in various types of leisure activities, says Bakken. What do you spend your free time doing? Be with friends😄 Do schoolwork📚 Play computer games, watch TV or scroll on your mobile🎮📱 Exercise🤸♂️💪 Music or other cultural activities🎸🎶 Free time? What is it?🤔 Show result – Less time for schoolwork, increased screen use and less reading. Is it dark? – No, it’s not dark. Fortunately, most young people, no matter what they are doing, report that they have good lives. Published 13.11.2024, at 07.09
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This is how the leisure habits of Norwegian youth have changed – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
