Croatian Kids Excessively Game and Use Social Networks

Hrvatski Telekom and the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences (ERF) presented the results of the first year of implementing the prevention program "Tools for Modern Times." The project aims to explore children's habits and address risky behaviors among elementary school students and adolescents in the digital environment.

The first phase of this project, during the 2023/2024 school year, included educational training for future program leaders, school counselors, and teachers in elementary schools across Croatia. In the second phase, trained program leaders conducted an extensive and comprehensive prevention program with students. It consists of 12 structured workshops and one lecture each for teachers and parents. It is a universal prevention program designed for all students and implemented with entire classes. In the previous school year, 2,055 students participated in the program, and 237 facilitators from 108 elementary schools were trained. By the end of the year, more than 150 elementary schools from 20 counties are expected to participate.

As part of the project, a study was conducted among students participating in the Program (average age 13) to assess their habits and risky behaviors in the digital environment. The program's effectiveness is also monitored to determine its impact on students' risky online behaviors, socio-emotional skills, and functioning in digital and real-world environments. The research measured excessive use of social media and video games (more than 3 hours per day).

Results showed that during the week, around 40% of students spend more than three hours daily on social media (28.5% for 3 to 5 hours a day, 11.7% more than 5 hours a day), and about 11% excessively play video games during school days. On weekends, time spent on digital platforms increases, with 62.3% of students spending more than three hours daily on social media (34.8% for 3 to 5 hours, 27.5% more than 5 hours), while around 30% spend more than three hours a day playing video games (18.3% for 3 to 5 hours, and 12.8% even more than 5 hours).

Around 1.6% of children show symptoms of social media addiction, the most intense form of harm, while approximately 3% meet the criteria for video game addiction. These findings undeniably prove the need for preventive action to reduce risks among those who have already begun displaying excessive behavior in this area and empower children to continue acting responsibly in the virtual environment. It is especially relevant for the expected development of problems among high school students.

The prevalence of current emotional problems among children, which can be both a cause and a consequence of excessive digital technology use, was also studied. In this area, around 7% of students currently experience severe or extremely severe symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress. These alarming results indicate children that are more vulnerable in the virtual environment, highlighting the necessity for ongoing preventive interventions. Interestingly, no differences in internet use and risky behaviors were found among participants based on the size of their hometowns, suggesting that this issue equally affects children from all communities.

Girls use social media more intensely, while boys are likelier to play video games. There are also obvious differences based on academic performance, with students with lower academic success using social media and playing video games more frequently, particularly in excessive daily internet use (5 or more hours). Such intensive social media use is present in 20% of students with lower academic performance, compared to 8.5% of those with excellent performance. We observe the same trend in differences in video game playtime during weekends.

Regarding internet use, the study found that children's primary motives are to connect with others and improve their mood. However, students largely believe they can establish better-quality relationships in the real world compared to the virtual one. This result is a significant protective factor and a foundation for enhancing socio-emotional skills, a primary focus of the "Tools for Modern Times" program.

The program, implemented through 12 weeks of workshops in elementary schools, resulted in more responsible online behavior among students and successfully raised awareness about critical socio-emotional skills that serve as a protective factor for the further development of potential problems. Notably, the effects on the entire sample of students were statistically significant in reducing symptoms of video game addiction and symptoms of depression.

The program also shows more significant positive effects among riskier groups of students, especially those who had lower knowledge about behavioral addictions and risky online behavior, as well as weaker knowledge of socio-emotional skills. The effects were also significant in reducing the excessive use of digital technologies. About 50% of students who excessively used social media and video games reduced their usage by several hours after completing the Program. Nearly a quarter (23.1%) of the entire sample of children who excessively played video games have reduced their gaming time by one to five hours during weekends.

The "Tools for Modern Times" program will continue in the 2024/2025 school year, and the national survey, which is part of the project, will continue to be conducted and deepened. It will continuously record data on children's behavior in the digital environment and measure the program's impact to monitor long-term trends and adjust educational activities to have the best effect on students and their well-being.