We all know that teenagers are addicted to their cellphones, and lots of parents are worried about that, but a new Pew Research poll finds that teens may actually be a little worried about their addiction as well.
The survey finds that 54% of teens, ages 13 to 17, believe they spend too much time on their cellphones, and some are actually doing something about it. Believe it or not, 52% of U.S. teens have attempted to scale back on their mobile phone use themselves, with 57% trying to limit their time on social media and 58% trying to cut back on their game playing.
But even with that, it’s pretty evident that screens are taking over teens’ lives. The survey notes that 72% of teens say they often or sometimes check their phones as soon as they wake up, with 40% feeling anxious when they don’t have their phone with them. What’s more, 56% of teens admit that not having their phone with them causes them at least one of three emotions – loneliness, being upset and feeling anxious.
And as you can imagine, parents are worried about all this phone time. In fact, two-thirds of parents are concerned about how much time their kids are in front of a screen, with 57% setting screen time restrictions. Of course, parents aren’t exactly that much better when it comes to phone addiction, with 36% admitting they themselves spend too much time on their cellphones.