Just when a new survey shows that people in the United States spend more time online than on anything else, new studies from across the globe are confirming the negative consequences of internet addiction.

The survey of 2,000 adults conducted by Optimum Communications found that Americans spend an average of 10 hours a day online, including activities related to work, school, household management, and entertainment.

Meanwhile, outside of the U.S., the World Health Organization (WHO) has just released its findings from the 2021/2022 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, which covers Europe, Central Asia, and Canada. The HBSC survey is conducted every four years and covers a wide variety of data collection and analysis.

In June, WHO released Volume 6 of the reports from the 2021/2022 survey entitled, “A focus on adolescent social media use and gaming in Europe, central Asia and Canada.” The study found that:

32% [of adolescents] are at risk of crossing the line into problematic use, meaning negative interference with their daily lives or affecting their relationships, studies or emotional wellbeing.

A further 11% of adolescents have already crossed that line into problem internet usage. That’s a total of 43% of adolescents in all of Europe, Central Asia and Canada, who are in danger of or experiencing internet addiction.

Some of the key HBSC findings indicate the scope of the internet addiction problem among adolescents in the 44 countries included in the survey:

• Not surprisingly, boys were more addicted to gaming than girls, and girls were more addicted to social media than boys.

• 22% reported playing games for four or more hours per day.

• Interestingly, girls’ peak gaming came in year 11, and for boys it was year 13. The survey covers adolescents aged 11-15, meaning there is some aging out of gaming.

• Possibly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant increase in problematic social media use between 2018 and 2022.

The report states there is an “urgent need” for countries to regulate access to the internet and smartphones. It concludes:

[A] growing number of adolescents are at risk of experiencing social, school and emotional problems in their daily lives as a result of these phenomena, and policy-makers and practitioners should give careful consideration to the issues this raises.

Right on cue, a consortium of 16 organizations presented a program in Spain on the “responsible and moderate use of technology.” Presenters included neurologists, psychologists, and psychiatrists concerned about “hyperconnectivity.”

The doctors noted an increase in mental illnesses at early ages and with greater intensity. They cited a long litany of problems due to internet addiction, though no surveys were included in the summary to support the findings. Negative outcomes include isolation, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, lower risk perception, and self-harm.

Perhaps noticing these problems did not disappear with age, researchers in China observed the impact of internet addiction on athletes. A study of 4,101 college students (mean age 19, roughly two-thirds female) was conducted by the Sports and Science College at NanTong University in Jiangsu, China.

Researchers found a “significant correlation” between social media addiction and sleep disruption. Further, they found that sleep disruption was significantly correlated with an increase in anxiety and depression. Ultimately, sleep disruption leads to a reduction in physical exercise.

The good news in that survey is that an increase in physical exercise led to a reduction in anxiety, depression, and social media use. The researchers conclude:

It is recommended that schools organize more activities conducive to physical activity for college students, improve facilities and policies related to physical exercise, and encourage active participation in physical activities to alleviate anxiety, depression and social media addiction and promote sleep quality.

One solution for internet addiction appears to be coming directly from the internet itself. The Atlantic reports that artificial intelligence (AI) has gummed up social media so much that it’s turning people off. They refer to the deluge of machine-generated posts as “AI slop,” a problem not easily solved.

In what sounds more like wishful thinking than actual research, author Emma Marris  writes, “Maybe the AI-slop era will actually help us log off?” She concludes her hopeful essay:

[A]s [the internet] gets worse, the real world starts to look pretty good in comparison, with its flesh-and-blood people with whom we can establish trust, less overwhelming number of consumer options, slower pace, and occasional moments of unpredictable delight that do not create financial profit for anyone.

The whole world is sounding the alarm about the problems caused by internet addiction, particularly among school-aged youth. It is clear that the era of age-restricted access is coming to the internet. Even as tech companies try to fend off age restrictions, their own AI-generated slop — which they knowingly unleashed prematurely on a defenseless population — could do what millions of parents could not: Get kids off the internet and outside to play.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published August 4, 2025.

Sources:

“Americans spend nearly half their day online — whether it’s work or play — ‘eye-opening’ poll shows,” New York Post, July 27, 2025.

“Depression, anxiety and self-harm: the extreme consequences of teenage screen addiction,” El Pais, July 27, 2025.

“Social media addiction as the central mediating variable to explore the mechanism between physical exercise and sleep quality.” Nature Scientific Reports, July 23, 2025.

“AI Slop Might Finally Cure Our Internet Addiction,” The Atlantic, July 22, 2025.

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