Increase in number of young adults who feel addicted to social media

There has been a sharp increase in the number of young adults who believe they are addicted to social media, according to new research in the Netherlands – which appears to support the view that overuse can lead to increased feelings of anxiety and inadequacy.

The latest survey by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) shows that 29 per cent of social media users between 18 and 25 describe themselves as addicted, and admit to feeling anxious without their mobile phones – a 10 per cent increase on the previous research in 2015.

It also shows that 41 per cent of users in the same age bracket believe that using social media has a detrimental effect on their sleeping patterns, up from 26 per cent in the 2015 survey.

The Dutch have been leading the way in social media research since before 2010 when the first CBS survey showed 91 per cent of young internet users active on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, second only to Poland – with Ireland in second-last place, followed by Romania.

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As a result, trends in the Netherlands – such as this increasing combination of addiction and alienation among young people, both male and female – are generally regarded as leading indicators for other European countries.

Longer stretches

Young adults are also spending considerably longer stretches of time on social media, with 29 per cent saying it entertains them for between five and 10 hours a day – up from 17 per cent in 2015.

Nine per cent admit it takes up between five and 10 hours a day – a figure that has more than doubled from 4 per cent in 2015.

As to how their anxiety manifests itself, 34 per cent say they are afraid they will “miss things” if they don’t check social media – a figure that falls to 17 per cent for older users.

Twenty-two per cent say that if they cannot check an incoming message immediately they become “restless” – which is regarded as a problem for only 12 per cent of users over 25.

Thirty-seven per cent say they feel it’s “a major nuisance” if they don’t have internet access, even if they don’t need to be online for any particular reason – a feeling of annoyance that applies to only 22 per cent of older users.

Young adults

And although the CBS survey does not examine mental health issues, it does pose the question – arising from the statistics – as to whether the feeling of addiction among more young adults could be symptomatic of spending more time on social media than older users.

Last year, a joint survey by two UK organisations, the Royal Society for Public Health and the Young Health Movement, found that Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter all led to increased feelings of anxiety among 14- to 24-year-olds.