95% of Seoul high school students watch YouTube, averaging 10 hours a week: study
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Experts encourage more physical activity, face-to-face communication
Some 95 percent of freshman and sophomore high school students in Seoul use YouTube, spending an average of 10.8 hours a week watching videos on the platform, a new study found.
A report released by the Seoul Institute on Saturday found that YouTube was the most widely used social media platform among first- and second-year high school students in Seoul, with 95.4 percent of the 500 respondents saying they used it. Instagram followed at 85.7 percent, while TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) trailed at 48.9 percent and 21.4 percent, respectively.
The survey, based on individual interviews conducted in August last year, examined how high school students use social media and video-streaming platforms.
High school students were found to spend an average of 10.8 hours a week watching YouTube, followed by 7.5 hours on Instagram and 2.6 hours on TikTok.
Girls spent more time than boys on some platforms. On Instagram, girls logged 8.8 hours a week on average, compared with 6.4 hours for boys. On X, girls spent 1.2 hours, more than twice as long as boys, who spent 30 minutes.
About 51 percent of respondents said they subscribed to more than 10 and less than 50 YouTube channels, while 35.4 percent said more than one and less than 10.
The survey also asked respondents about when they were first exposed to smartphones and social media. On average, they acquired their first smartphone at age 10. and first encountered videos on YouTube or TikTok at age 9.9.
They first saw another person’s social media post at an average age of 12.7, first opened a social media account at 13.8 and first uploaded a post of their own at 13.9.
Only around 1 percent of respondents said they were barred from bringing smartphones to school. Nearly half, or 48.9 percent, said they kept their phones with them but were not allowed to use them during class, while 46.1 percent said they turned them in each morning and received them back after school.
Another 3.8 percent said they could use smartphones freely without restrictions, and 1.2 percent said they were permitted to carry phones into school.
Researchers raised concerns about adolescents becoming increasingly used to communicating on social media.
“During adolescence, the brain and social skills develop rapidly, and those capacities are shaped through offline interaction with others and exposure to diverse real-life situations,” the report said. “Students should be encouraged to spend more time in environments that foster face-to-face communication with peers and physical activity.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.