Study: Social media regrets rank low among teens’ top regrets
9 reported
A new study by Irish researcher Eoin Whelan examined whether young adults regret their social media use as teenagers. The study surveyed 389 participants aged 20-24 who were social media users as teens, asking them to rate 20 possible regrets on a 7-point scale. Out of 20 regrets, spending too much time on social media ranked 13th overall. The top regrets included not sticking up for oneself, being too self-conscious, and not documenting memories. The study found that regrets over social media time did not predict current life satisfaction for either boys or girls. Dr. Whelan stated that the results suggest the harmful effects of social media may be overstated.
What’s reported
The study was conducted by Irish researcher Eoin Whelan.
389 young adult participants aged 20-24 who were social media users as teens were surveyed.
Participants rated 20 possible teenage regrets on a 7-point Likert scale.
Too much time on social media ranked 13th out of 20 regrets.
The top five regrets were: not sticking up for oneself, being too self-conscious, not documenting memories, not learning practical life skills, and not getting help with mental health.
Girls were slightly more likely to regret time on social media than boys (ranking 11th vs 13th), but the effect was very small.
Regrets over time spent on social media as a teen did not predict current young adult life satisfaction for either boys or girls.
Only regrets over not working harder in school and not exercising negatively predicted life satisfaction.
Regrets over socializing with friends positively predicted life satisfaction.
Key figures
Eoin Whelan, Irish researcher
Sources: marginalrevolution.com
