Teenage boys in Scotland top 'worst' in world list for playing computer games

The study looked at online and gaming habits of teenagers in Europe and North America

More teenage boys in Scotland play computer games daily than in any other country surveyed in a major report into the online habits of young people.

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The Health Behaviour In School-Aged Children study, published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in partnership with the University of Glasgow, found 60 per cent of 13-year-old boys in Scotland played computer games every day. Across all countries studied, 34 per cent of adolescents play digital games daily and 22 per cent play for at least four hours on gaming days.

Meanwhile, almost one in five 15-year-old girls in Scotland demonstrate “problematic” social media use, which interferes with other aspects of their lives, the report found.

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Meanwhile, it found the proportion of 13-year-old girls in Scotland who had “problematic” social media use doubled over a four year period, rising from 11 per cent in 2018 to 22 per cent in 2022 – an increase that is nearly double the average figure of countries surveyed.

By the time children turned 15, 19 per cent of girls in Scotland reported problematic use - characterised by addiction-like symptoms including: neglect of other activities in favour of spending time on social media; a preoccupation with the platforms; frequent arguments about use; lying about how much time is spent on social media; an inability to control social media use and experiencing withdrawal when not using it - compared to just nine per cent of boys.

The study looked at online and gaming habits of teenagers in 44 countries in Europe and North America.

Lead author of the study in Scotland, Dr Jo Inchley, from the University of Glasgow’s School of Health and Wellbeing, said: “When we look at the problematic end of the spectrum, 11 per cent of adolescents are classified as problematic users, which covers things like wanting to spend more time on social media, using social media and neglecting other activities, maybe arguing with family about social media use, or having to lie about the amount of time spent on it and having this preoccupation with social media use.”

The study found that across all countries, some 36 per cent of teenagers reported “constant” online contact with friends – meaning they are in contact with friends or others “almost all the time throughout the day”.

This rose to 53 per cent of 13-year-old girls in Scotland.

Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said: "It’s clear that social media can have both positive and negative consequences on the health and wellbeing of adolescents. That’s why digital literacy education is so important. Yet it remains inadequate in many countries, and where it is available, it often fails to keep pace with young people and rapidly evolving technology.”

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He added: “We are seeing the consequences of this gap, with worse likely to come, unless governments, health authorities, teachers and parents recognise the root causes of the current situation and take steps to rectify it.

“It’s clear we need immediate and sustained action to help adolescents turn the tide on potentially damaging social media use, which has been shown to lead to depression, bullying, anxiety, and poor academic performance.”

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