Facebook has undeniably brought enormous benefits to people worldwide — we can reunite with relatives who moved away, stay in touch with friends in other countries and share photos with them all. 

But then there’s the downside. It makes users lose track of time and disengage from the real world in such a way that can create problems, especially in some of the younger generations.

USA Today recently highlighted a census article performed by Common Sense Media, a San Francisco based non-profit that tracks children and their technology use, found that teens aged 13 – 18 spend almost 9 hours a day – that’s longer than they usually sleep – on “entertainment media”, which includes things like checking social media, music, gaming, or watching online videos but not including time spent using media for school or homework. Take a look below at some of thee astounding numbers:

Teen boys average 56 minutes a day playing video games, while teen girls spend 40 minutes more a day than boys on social media.

Mobile devices now account for 41% of all screen time among tweens, and 46% among teens.

On average among teens, 39% of digital screen time is devoted to passive consumption (watching, listening, reading), 25% to interactive content (playing games, browsing the web), 26% to communication (social media, texting), and 3% to content creation (writing, digital art, music).

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Link to original article. Link to USA Today article.