INTRODUCTION

Have you ever got your screen time report back and realize how much time you spend on your device compared to off. When you’re off your device are you being a social person? How do you think your screen time affects your social life outside of your device, are you less or more?

About our project

We are creating a project to show how much teenagers spend on their devices and how that may impact them in their social world, making them think about what they can change to improve the way they act in person.

What we did

We took a 85 amount of surveys to figure out each grade level’s average screen time, and their responses on if they were more or less social before getting their device

Our goal

Our goal for this project is to have students look at how much time they spend online and how it may affect how social they are.

FRESHMEN

The freshman class average screen time was five hours, with TikTok taking up most of their screen time, with an average of 3 hours a day. With a 9:25 ratio with 9 being yes and 25 being no on if the freshman class thinks they were more or less social before they got a device.

A student who responded that they were more social before getting a device said, “I would hang out with my friends more in person instead of just calling them.”

A student who said their social life has not been affected by their phone said, “As I grew older, I got more social.”

All of the freshmen with an average screen time of over eight hours per day responded that they did not believe their device had a negative impact on their social lives.

SOPHMORES

The sophomore class average screen time was also five hours per day. TikTok also took up most of their screen time, with an average of two hours daily.  Only three of the 18 sophomores surveyed believed that they were less social since getting a device.

One student said their devices helped them socially, saying, “I was super shy. I felt left out because my friends all talked about trends and Renegade and Woah. After I got it now I get all the references I’m debriefing.”

Another student said their device didn’t impact their social life because they’ve “never been the most social.”

Another student shared, “Technology didn’t really change me.”

JUNIORS

The junior class average screen time was 4 hours per day. With TikTok taking up most of their screen time with an average of 2 hours a day. 60 percent of juniors in the survey believed that their devices have not negatively impacted their social life, with some believing that their screens have improved their social life.

“I make more connections with people online,” one shared, “making me more comfortable to approach someone.”

A student who has felt their social life getting worse said, “I was more social before getting technology, because it helped me communicate and talk to people better in person than through a device. Now, looking back, you can tell a difference from when I had a phone to when I didn’t.”

SENIORS

The senior class average screen time was four hours daily with TikTok taking up most of their screen, time with an average of three hours a day. Seventy-five percent rejected the idea that their device has hurt them socially.

One senior stated devices haven’t hurt them because, “I am socially awkward.”

A student who believed screen time is harming them said they were “so much [more social] before tech.”

Realization

After seeing all of the responses here is what we noticed is, that students with an average screen time of 8 plus hours all shared the response of no, but if you think about it you go to school for 8 hours a day then spend 8 more hours on your phone how would you consider that being social with others in person.

By doing the surveys and having students at our school fill them out, let students look at their screen time and realize how much they are really spending on their devices.