Teens Ditch Screens: Can Less Social Media Boost Real-Life Friendships?

Imogen is a 14-year-old student at Appleton Academy in Bradford. She has long brown hair and usually wears her school blazer, jumper, and white shirt. Imogen spends about seven hours a day on social media, chatting with her friends before and after school. She says it feels like she is always on her phone. But for the next six weeks, Imogen and other students at her school are going to change their habits. They are taking part in a new research project called the IRL trial, which stands for In Real Life. This project is one of the first big scientific studies to look at how using social media apps like Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, and X affects young people. More than 200 students at Appleton Academy are starting the research, and later, about 4,000 children will join the main project.

The students have downloaded a special app on their phones. This app sets time limits for using social media and creates a curfew at night, so they cannot use their phones during certain hours. Researchers from the Born In Bradford project and the University of Cambridge will study how these changes affect the students. They will look at things like anxiety, depression, and sleep. They will also check if students spend more time with their families and friends and if there is less bullying. Imogen has to limit her social media use to two hours a day for six weeks. She says she wants to use her phone less, but she is also nervous about it.

Imogen's classmate, Aisha, feels the same way. She says it will be really hard because she only talks to her friends on her phone and does not meet them in person. However, Aisha hopes that using her phone less will help her relax and spend more time outside. Lucia, who is 15, usually spends four hours a day on social media, but now she will only use it for one hour. She realized she did not have her friends' phone numbers, just their social media accounts. Declan, another student, thinks using social media less will make it harder to do his homework because he uses TikTok to help him study. The study is different for each year group. Year 10 students can use social media for one hour a day, Year 9 students for two hours, and Year 8 students can use it as much as they want.

Dr John Pickavance, who is running the study, says some students are excited, but others are nervous. He knows that social media is a big part of young people's lives, so changing how much they use it will be hard. The government is also thinking about ways to stop teenagers from seeing things online that are not good for them. Dr Pickavance hopes the study will help make better rules about social media. The head teacher, Rachel Garlick, wants students to share their thoughts about a possible ban on social media for kids under 16. She also hopes the study will help students understand how too much social media can affect their feelings. The research team is using their experience from the Born In Bradford project, which has followed over 60,000 people in the city since they were born. The main part of the study will start in September, and the results will come out next year.