Almost half of young people would prefer a world without internet, UK study finds

I find it incredibly depressing that young people mostly seem to be unable to distinguish social media from the wider internet.

I think that web folks and technologists have to face up to what is a true failure to preserve the web and its utility for an entire generation and figure out how we fix this.

The research reveals that nearly 70% of 16- to 21-year-olds feel worse about themselves after spending time on social media. Half (50%) would support a “digital curfew” that would restrict their access to certain apps and sites past 10pm, while 46% said they would rather be young in a world without the internet altogether.

A quarter of respondents spent four or more hours a day on social media, while 42% of those surveyed admitted to lying to their parents and guardians about what they do online.

While online, 42% said they had lied about their age, 40% admitted to having a decoy or “burner” account, and 27% said they pretended to be a different person completely.