Young people who spend too much time surfing the Internet are more likely to miss school due to illness or unexcused absences, according to a new study that also indicates that teenage girls are more likely to abuse the Internet than their male peers. They found, however, that sleeping well, exercising regularly, and maintaining a trusting relationship with parents can help mitigate the negative effects of extreme Internet use on school absences.
The research has been led by a team from the Finnish National Institute of Health and Welfare who has published their findings in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood. To evaluate the impact that excessive Internet use has on school attendance and explore possible factors that reduce its influence, the research team used data from the School Health Promotion study, a survey carried out in Finland by the National Institute of Health. Health and Wellbeing of the country.
The research involved 86,270 eighth and ninth grade students, ages 14 to 16, who responded to questions about the frequency with which they shared their worries with their parents, the hours they slept at night and the days on which they did homework. at least one hour of physical activity. Excessive Internet use was measured through five lifestyle factors that indicate compulsion: neglect of family, friends, and studies; anxiety when not being online, and poor diet or sleep due to internet use.
Factors that can reverse the effect of internet abuse on young people
Respondents were asked to estimate the frequency with which they experienced each of these factors, rating them from one (never) to four (very frequently), to obtain an overall average. They also provided information on how many times they had missed class or been absent due to illness during the last school year. The average score on the scale was almost two, and just over 2% (1,881) of participants obtained the maximum score of four. Girls were found to be more prone to excessive internet use compared to boys.
Spending too much time online was associated with an increased risk of truancy (up 38%) and school absences for medical reasons (up 24%). However, having good relationships with parents, sleeping more during the week, and engaging in physical activity were found to be significantly protective factors, and more of each factor was associated with a decreasing risk of truancy or missing school due to illness. .
Teens who felt they could share their problems with their parents were 59% less likely to miss school without an excuse and 39% less likely to be absent due to illness
The ability to talk about concerns with parents was the factor most associated with a lower risk of both types of school absences. Teenagers who felt they could share their problems with their parents were 59% less likely to miss school without an excuse and 39% less likely to be absent due to illness.
This study is observational and definitive conclusions cannot be drawn about causal factors and the researchers have recognized that the School Health Promotion data did not include information on the type of Internet use that adolescents made, but they affirm that “despite limitations, our results have important implications for health promotion and educational achievement.”
“Excessive Internet use, short sleep duration, and low physical activity were associated with both unexcused school and medical absences. “This has important implications for both general health promotion and the support offered to students with alarming school absences,” they conclude in their article.
