The Influence of Peer Pressure on Screen Addiction: A Case Study of Adolescents in a Post-Globalization Context

Sociology

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of peer pressure on screen addiction among adolescents in Sri Lanka in the digital age. The study aims to determine the prevalence of screen addiction, determine the degree of screen addiction, analyze the role of peer pressure in screen addiction behavior, and identify socioculturally associated factors in relation to screen addiction. The study employed a mixed methods approach consisting of a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews with adolescents aged 13-19. The sample was stratified random, across Sri Lanka. The findings demonstrated that a large majority of adolescents suffer from screen addiction. These adolescents report that they spend an overwhelming amount of time on screens, often prioritizing screens over tasks of necessity, and experience withdrawal symptoms when denied access to screens. Peer pressure is a dominant factor in screen addiction behaviors, and adolescents feel that they are pressured by peers to increase their time spent on screens and measure their screen usage against their peers. Social and cultural factors also play a role in determining adolescent screen addiction patterns. As such, recommendations were made in this study such as: to raise awareness of excessive screen use and its risks and consequences, and to address the issue among both adolescents and their caregivers. Interventions must provide guidelines to help individuals maintain a balance between their usage of screens and other daily routines. Screen addiction also needs to be tackled in terms of peer pressure by empowering adolescents with the ability to recognize their behavior patterns and the choices and consequences of such behavior. This approach of working on the personal level and on the family level should go hand in hand so as to encourage the behavior change. We recommend to involve parents to influence adolescents positively in terms of screen usage patterns and behaviors so as to build a conducive family environment that favors productive use of technology. Schools can play a role in integrating digital wellness information within their curriculum and promote the usage of alternative leisure activities as an alternative for recreational time, instead of spending it on the screen. Furthermore, this should also involve policymakers, who can look at societal norms and traditions to develop effective policies that promote positive use of technologies and the betterment of adolescent screen habits in Sri Lanka. This study proves that screen addiction has a strong correlation with peer pressure among adolescents in Sri Lanka

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