More than one in four 15-year-olds spends more than four hours a day on social media. This is the threshold researchers use to define \u201chyperconnectivity,\u201d and over the course of a year, that percentage has risen from 20.7% to 26.8%. Among girls, the figure reaches 35%. This is one of the findings from the second survey of the \u201cInteractional Changes and Well-being\u201d (MiB) project, presented on November 5 to the National Research Council. Starting in 2025, and for five years, the MUSA group at the Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies (CNR-IRPPs) will track approximately 3,000 adolescents in Rome.<\/p>\n\n
As hyperconnectivity grows, so does \u201cphubbing\u201d\u2014that is, the annoyance of being interrupted while online or chatting\u2014according to 55% of teens. 73.1% use artificial intelligence, mainly for homework, to clarify academic questions, and out of curiosity. And for 16.2%, the use is dysfunctional: there is emotional involvement, blind trust, and dependence. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe virtual world and AI are quietly propelling us into a new dimension of communication that, for now, is causing more problems than benefits.\u201d This is explained by Antonio Tintori, a researcher at CNR-IRPPs and head of the MUSA group.<\/p>\n\n
Psychological well-being is deteriorating. Distress, which includes symptoms of anxiety and depression, affects 20.7% of the sample. Low self-esteem has risen by more than three percentage points, reaching 37.3%. Both conditions affect girls more severely. 26.2% exhibit high levels of aggression, and 16.9% suffer from alexithymia\u2014that is, they are unable to recognize and express their emotions. 14.5% are morally disengaged\u2014that is, they tend to downplay the seriousness of harmful behaviors. In this case, it is primarily boys.<\/p>\n\n
Isolation remains stable, but at very high levels. 49.9% of adolescents go out only to attend school and spend the rest of their time at home. Among them, 6.6% have been in isolation for six months or more.<\/p>\n\n
The signs regarding stereotypes are mixed. Gender stereotypes are declining slightly, especially among girls, but 17.6% still strongly hold these views. According to the researchers, this belief is linked to daily exposure to online pornography, which affects 15.1% of 15-year-olds. Prejudices toward migrants, on the other hand, are on the rise: 34.1% express strong support for such views, an increase of 11 percentage points compared to 2025. Homophobic and transphobic attitudes are also on the rise, reaching 35.3%, with a significant gap between boys (49.7%) and girls (16.4%).<\/p>\n\n
The situation at school is dire. According to students, homophobia is the most common form of discrimination (45%), followed by transphobia (41.1%), bullying (35.6%), racism (33.4%), and cyberbullying (25.7%). 55.5% say they have been victims of bullying. 39.9% do not recognize violence\u2014whether physical or psychological\u2014because they consider it normal. Regarding cyberbullying, 47.5% regularly participate as perpetrators, 23% as victims, and 16.2% in both roles.<\/p>\n\n
Finally, alcohol consumption is on the rise. 59.9% believe that alcohol is very or fairly common among their peers. 53.5% report widespread consumption of hard liquor, an increase of 25.2% compared to 2025. Binge drinking is rising sharply, especially among girls.<\/p>\n\n
The researchers conclude that the picture that emerges is one of an increasingly fragile adolescence, marked by addictions and antisocial behavior.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The MiB survey by the CNR-IRPPs, which tracks 3,000 adolescents in the capital, shows a decline across nearly all areas: more time spent on social media, higher rates of depression, and more stereotypes toward migrants and LGBTQ+ people<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":23465,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAowscnaCw:productID":"","_app_feed_target":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1636],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society"],"yoast_head":"\n