Digital Wellbeing (2020)

Digital Wellbeing 2020 is a national UK report report focusing on digital wellbeing among young people. The study asked 1000 young people aged 12-16 from across the UK a number of questions relating to their relationship with technology and how this impacts their physical and mental health. Participants were asked about important topics such as smartphone addiction, parental support, screen time, and other key indicators identified by Cybersmile as areas of potential risk to young people's mental and physical wellbeing.

Our study was undertaken to better understand young people's relationships with their devices and the internet, and how these relationships affect various aspects of their health. The way young people feel about their parental and school support networks, their feelings toward their own parents' internet use, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people's internet habits are all explored in the project.

• 60% felt it online time negatively impacted other important areas of their lives, including sleep, diet, exercise, and study
• 46% considered themselves addicted to their smartphones
• 42% considered their parents to be addicted to their smartphones
• 35% felt their internet and social media use negatively affected their mental and/or physical health
• 27% felt their parents would not know how to help them with online problems
• 30% felt that their school would not know how to help them with online problems
• 9% felt their parents internet or social media use had affected their ability to look after them

The research was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Cybersmile across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland with 1,000 general respondents (aged 12–16) who were social media users between 15.05.2020 and 19.05.2020. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society, which is based on the ESOMAR principles, and is a member of The British Polling Council.

The Cybersmile Foundation (2020). Digital Wellbeing Report (2020): A national UK study of young people's understanding and perspective of digital wellbeing.