Most second level students access social media during school

Life

Source: Stockfresh

9 September 2014

Research from BT released ahead of the deadline for entries to the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (BTYSE) for 2015 has found that 79% of secondary students check their social media presence in school. A further 44% admitted accessing it up to five time a day

The research – conducted across BTYSTE’s Facebook and Twitter channels – was conducted from 16 July to 8 August 2014 on sample of 1,049 respondents aged from under 13 up to 18 years across the Republic of Ireland.

When asked about the duration of the average single visit to social media sites, 26% of respondents claimed to spend between two and five minutes on social media per visit; one third of respondents admitted staying online between six and 10 minutes per visit with 38% spending more than 10 minutes on social media sites per individual visit.

Further results found that 59% of students depend on social media and the Internet to help with schoolwork, while 71% of students said they feel that social media has helped them to identify and connect with friends with similar interests.

Mari Cahalane, head of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, said: “Over the past number of years there has been a significant increase in increase in social media related projects at the exhibition. Students from across Ireland have submitted projects on a wide range of related topics such as mobile application development, psychometric testing through social media and even ways to determine if you’re being lied to on Facebook.

“This is what the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is all about – helping students to engage in the spheres of science, technology, engineering and maths through channels that really interest them and are relevant to their lives.”

The 2015 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition will take place in the RDS, Dublin from 7-10 January 2015.

The closing date for entries is 1 October.

TechCentral Reporters