About CyberTeens
CyberTeens is a 4-year longitudinal study that ran from the fall of 2020 until 2024. The objective of CyberTeens was to understand the developmental and social factors related to adolescent’s technology engagement. We were interested in this topic because of the large amount of time teens spend connected to a digital device, which became even more pronounced during the pandemic when the study started.
We have just completed the final wave of the study, which involved six secondary schools around BC. Once a year for the past 4 years, over 3000 teens in grade 8-12 completed our online questionnaire (scroll down to see the demographics for each wave of the study).
Below are the main take aways from the study, but click on ‘learn more’ to read about other findings:
Key Points
- Spending excessive time online during the pandemic did not cause teens to become addicted to the Internet.
- For teens who do exhibit signs of Internet addiction, it is usually a signal that something else is going on (e.g., it is a symptom not a cause). Focusing on reducing screen time misses the real problem and doesn’t help kids.
- Internet use can be thought of more as a habit, which as we know, can be very hard to change or break.
- The social connections afforded by technology protected kids during the pandemic. Only a small percentage of kids were isolated and disconnected during the pandemic.
- The pandemic lead to students feeling like they missed out on foundational learning experiences. This has had a negative impact on their confidence
- Overall, kids feel connected to their schools and feel like their teachers care.
Media Presentations
Children’s COVID-related Anxiety
- CTV Morning Live (video , transcripted interview ). April 23, 2020
Screentime during COVID-19
Publications
Xiao, B., Parent, N., Rahal, L., & Shapka, J. (2023). Using machine learning to explore the risk factors of smartphone addiction among Canadian adolescents during COVID-19: It all about the fear of missing out (FoMO), Applied Science, 13(8), 4970. doi: 10.3390/app13084970.
Parent, N., Xiao, B., Hein-Salvi, C., & Shapka, J. (2022). Should We Be Worried about Smartphone Addiction? An Examination of Canadian Adolescents’ Feelings of Social Disconnection in the Time of COVID-19. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), 9365. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159365.
Parent, N., Bond, T. A., & Shapka, J. D. (2021). Smartphones as attachment targets: an attachment theory framework for understanding problematic smartphone use. Current Psychology, 1-12. doi: 10.1007/s12144-021-02092-w.
Parent, N., Dadgar, K., Xiao, B., Hesse, C., & Shapka, J. D. (2021). Social disconnection during COVID‐19: The role of attachment, fear of missing out, and smartphone use. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 31(3), 748-763. doi: 10.1111/jora.12658.
Shapka, J. D. (2019). Adolescent technology engagement: It is more complicated than a lack of self‐control. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 1(2), 103-110.
doi: 10.1002/hbe2.144.
Conference Presentations
Xiao, B., Parent, N., & Shapka, J. (2023, April). Canadian adolescents’ feelings and internalizing problems during the pandemic: A longitudinal sentiment analysis. Paper presented at the SRA Annual Meeting, San Diego.
Parent, N., Xiao, B., & Shapka, J. D. (2022, March). Adolescents’ social connection in the time of COVID-19: the role of school connectedness and peer attachment. Paper presented at the annual meeting for the Society for Research on Adolescence, Virtual.
Parent, N., Hesse, C. L., Baitz, R., & Shapka, J. D. (2021, November). The experience of FoMO in adolescence: Examining the relationship between basic psychological needs and the Fear of Missing Out. Presented at the American Psychological Association’s Technology, Mind, & Society Conference, Virtual.
Hein-Salvi, C., Parent, N., Xiao, B., & Shapka, J.D. (2022, June). “Comfortably disengaged”: A mixed-methods examination of social anxiety, smartphone engagement, personality traits, and mental health in the time of COVID-19. Presented at Development 2022: A Canadian Conference on Developmental Psychology, Calgary, Alberta.
Parent, N., Xiao, B., & Shapka, J.D. (2022, June). Social disconnection and wellbeing in the time of COVID-19: Do we really need to worry about smartphone addiction? Presented at Development 2022: A Canadian Conference on Developmental Psychology, Calgary, Alberta.
Shapka, J.D. (2022, June). COVID and Screentime: It’s more complicated than we think. Presented at Development 2022: A Canadian Conference on Developmental Psychology, Calgary, Alberta.
Invited Keynotes
Shapka, J.D. (2022, October). Kids and Screentime: It’s more complicated than we think. Invited presentation for the Canadian Association for Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Vancouver, BC.
Parent, N. (2022, September). Technology use and the fear of missing out in adolescence: An attachment theory perspective. Invited presentation for the 21st International Attachment Conference. Ulm, Germany.
Shapka, J.D. (2021, June). CyberTeens Research Project: Learning and Connecting in the time of COVID-19. Invited keynote for the annual Canadian Psychological Association. Virtual.