Young People Overwhelmingly Find Life Online Positive Experience

On Open House recently, Dr Lyn O’Grady from the Australian Psychological Society discussed findings from the 2017 APS Digital Me Survey. Dr O’Grady says says young people overwhelmingly find life online a positive experience, using technology to maintain important connections with friends and family.

She also warned of the downsides of technology use such as teenagers increasingly being contacted by strangers online, pressures about how to look and managing reactions of others.

Lyn O’Grady is a community psychologist and Manager of Strategic Projects at the Australian Psychological Society. She has managed the KidsMatter project for the Society, worked as a school psychologist and with parents in parenting programs for over 20 years.

The Digital Me Survey is a national survey of Australian adults and teens which examined how the widespread use of digital technology and social media is affecting their wellbeing, behaviour and self-image.  More than 1,000 adults and 150 teens aged 14 – 17 years were surveyed.

Digital Me Survey Findings

• One third of the Australian teens surveyed reported that they had argued with someone they don’t know and posted content that they later regretted.
• Over a quarter of teenagers and one in five adults had experienced bullying on social media at least sometimes over the past 12 months.
• Teenagers are sometimes contacted by strangers online with 15 per cent reporting that they had been contacted daily on Facebook. Nearly 10% reported that they actively communicated or responded to strangers daily.
• Little checking occurs by parents of teen social media use with 3 in 5 parents surveyed stating they never monitor their child’s social media accounts or use.
• Australians of all ages feel pressure about how they look and how others react to their posts.

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