A research study suggests that young teens who spend excessive time online are more likely to miss school due to illness or truancy, with teenage girls more likely than boys.
The research, led by a team in Finland and published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, aimed to explore the relationship between internet use and school attendance.
The Study
The study analyzed data from 86,270 14 to 16-year-old students in Finland.
Results showed that excessive internet use was associated with a heightened risk of truancy (38% increased risk) and medically explained school absences (24% increased risk).
However, positive factors like good parental relationships, sufficient sleep, and physical activity were protective against these risks.
Role of Good Parenting
Teens who had trusting relationships with parents, longer weekday sleep durations, and engaged in regular physical activity were less likely to miss school, the research said.
“Teens who often felt able to share troubling issues with their parents were 59% less likely to play truant and 39% less likely to be absent from school due to illness,” the Guardian reported.
