Secondary students who say they are struggling academically at school are more likely to report having more negative experiences on their phones, a study suggests.

Students were particularly likely to have encountered content involving eating disorders, self-harm and suicide, and upsetting messages in online chat groups with other pupils, if they said they were struggling compared with if they said they were thriving or “coasting” at school, the research by UWE Bristol academics found.

The study, which surveyed 3,721 secondary students at six schools in and around Bristol, asked them whether they were “thriving”, “coasting” or “struggling” at school. It also surveyed more than 1,500 parents and 352 secondary teachers.

Students were most likely to report themselves as coasting (52 per cent). Only 10 per cent said they were struggling at school.

However, Professor David Ellis, chair of behavioural science at the University of Bath, cautioned that it was difficult to draw firm conclusions from the data as presented. He said that key information on methodology, ethics and peer review was not publicly available. For example, it is unclear from the highlights whether pupils were asked about positive experiences alongside negative ones. 

Students seeing harmful content on phones

Dr Ben Knight, senior lecturer at UWE Bristol’s School of Education and Childhood and one of the study’s authors, said young people who are struggling are likely to be experiencing several forms of difficulty.

“It may not be a surprise, therefore, that they report higher degrees of challenge associated with their smartphone and social media use. In this context, we see this cohort as being particularly vulnerable to the most troubling dimensions of smartphone use,” he added.

Researchers also found a disconnect between the concerns that parents had about their children’s phone use and the negative experiences students actually reported.

The 1,595 parents who were surveyed overestimated problems that their children were experiencing with phone use around being ignored or left out, receiving nasty messages, having sleep problems or having “drama” with friends, the study says.

However, parents underestimated the extent to which their children reported seeing disturbing and illegal content, suicide and self-harm content or eating disorder content, or being contacted by strangers.

Dr Paul Redford, study co-author and associate professor, said: “From our study, chat groups such as those on WhatsApp seem to be the most toxic element of smartphone use. Traditional ways in which young people bug one another are amplified in these online groups.”

He added: “The overall picture is that there are much more serious negative things going on with young people and their smartphones than parents are aware of.”

Dr Knight said this disconnect is likely a result of children not sharing with their parents.

“There’s a great deal more at stake for the young people than there is for the parents,” he said. “They could be thinking, ‘If my parents or teachers were aware of the extent to which I’m seeing certain content, then maybe they would take my phone away.’”

Teachers and parents favour stricter rules

Students reported that they were most likely to have negative experiences on their phones through group chats, followed by on social media.

Of the 352 secondary school teachers surveyed, more than 70 per cent reported having seen students tired as a result of phone use. Seven in 10 also said they had witnessed conflict in school that started outside of school because of phones, and 65 per cent said they had witnessed bullying because of phone use.

Teachers and parents were broadly in favour of stricter rules on phone use in schools or keeping rules the same, while 58 per cent of students would like more leniency on phone use in schools.

Young people who said they were struggling were the most likely to say they would like to see more lenient rules around school phone use.

When he was the Labour government’s technology secretary before changing jobs in September, business secretary Peter Kyle said children could face a limit on using social media apps.

A government spokesperson said: “We support headteachers to take the necessary steps to prevent disruption, backed by our clear guidance, and have also brought in better protections for children from harmful content through the Online Safety Act.

“More widely, through our Plan for Change, this government is backing young people to achieve and thrive in school by rolling out free breakfast clubs, recruiting more teachers and expanding mental health support.”

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