"Problematic" use of social networks is on the rise among young Europeans, who are also more likely to develop a gambling addiction, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday.
"We need immediate and sustained action to help adolescents stop the potentially harmful use of social media, which has been shown to lead to depression, bullying, anxiety and poor academic performance," WHO Europe Director Hans Kluge said in a statement.
In 2022, 11% of adolescents (13% of girls and 9% of boys) show signs of problematic use of social networks, while they were only 7% four years earlier, according to data obtained from 280,000 young people aged 11, 13, and 15 from 44 countries in Europe, Central Asia and Canada.
In other words, they present symptoms similar to those of addiction: inability to control excessive use, feeling of withdrawal and abandoning other activities in favor of social media and negative consequences of excessive use in daily life.
This phenomenon is most prevalent among Romanian adolescents aged 13 and 15, affecting 28% of them, and least among Dutch adolescents (3%).
Another source of concern is that a third of adolescents play online daily and 22% of them for at least four hours, noted the WHO, which specifies that across the entire cohort, 12% of adolescents have problematic behavior when it comes to gaming (16% of boys and 7% of girls).
"It is essential that we take action to protect young people so that they can navigate the digital landscape safely and are able to make informed choices about their online activities, maximising the benefits while minimising the risks to their mental and social well-being," WHO/Europe official Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat said in a statement.
The UN agency, however, highlights the advantages of responsible use of social media, particularly the connection between those who share the same passions and interests.
36% of young people, and 44% of 15-year-old girls, report being constantly in digital contact with their friends.
Young people "need to dominate social media, not let social media dominate them," Azzopardi-Muscat insisted.
WHO therefore recommends that national authorities improve digital environments and educational measures to enable young people to safely engage with the digital world.
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