A new report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has highlighted the negative impact of social media and digital technology on the well-being, learning and career decisions of girls across the global geopolitical zones, including Nigeria.
The UNESCO, in the report titled “Global Education Monitoring Report 2024:Gender Report –Technology on Her Terms”, found that while digital tools can enhance education, they also pose serious risks such as privacy invasion and cyber bullying, which particularly affect the self-esteem and body image of girls with the attendant negative implications for their well-being, learning and career decisions.
The report highlights the dual potential of technology to both enhance and hinder educational access and outcomes, depending on how it is implemented.
For instance, a positive outcome of technology is its use during the Boko Haram crisis in Adamawa State, Nigeria, where the technology Enhanced Learning for All Programme utilized mobile and radio technology to support 22,000 disadvantaged children, including those internally displaced. Within six months, notable improvements were observed in literacy and numeracy skills, particularly among girls.
However, the report also identified challenges such as biased social norms and cultural barriers that can limit equitable access to technology, noting that perceptions of girls being more vulnerable to online risks can lead to restrictive practices that limit their access to digital economy, potentially exacerbating gender disparity.
The UNESCO also reported that excessive exposure to social media can have detrimental effects on girls’ self-esteem and body image, For instance, a study in the United Kingdom found that 10% of 10 year-old girls reported spending one to three hours daily on social media, a figure that increases to 45% by age 15, compared to 31% among boys of the same age.
According to UNESCO, this suggests that girls are often more engaged with social media, which can impact their mental health and educational outcomes.
It noted: “Attitudes and perceptions that girls are more vulnerable to online risks can severely restrict girls’ access to technology, leading to restrictive practices that limit their engagement with digital technology.
“ Accessing the Internet is commonly associated with risks to children from exposure to pornography, which may lead to ‘poor mental health, sexism and objectification, sexual violence, and other negative outcomes’ (UNICEF, 2021b)”, the report added.
Furthermore, the report indicated that globally, girls aged 16 to 24 spend an average 2 hours and 59 minutes per day on social media, compared to 2 hours and 35 minutes among boys. The UNESCO noted that this disparity underscored the need for greater awareness and measures to mitigate the negative effects of social media on girls.
It clarified: “Pre-teenage girls, secondary and university students who use Facebook reported more body-related image concerns than non-users.
“Facebook’s research found that 32% of teenage girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse (Wells et. Al, 2021)
“Girls are more likely to be victimized through social media, while boys are more likely to experience cyberbullying through video games and mobile phone texts (Stoilova et al., 2021)
“Social media seemed to have a stronger impact on girls’ well-being that boys’, while cyberbullying was found to cause more harm to girls’ well-being than lack of sleep or exercise (Department for Education, 2016; Viner et al., 2019).
“Health Behaviour in School-aged Children strudy indicated that girls in Europe report feeling lonelier and expeeuence more strain on their mental health compared to boys (World Health Organisation’s 2021/22.”, it added.
The report, therefore, emphasizes the need for better education and regulations to protect girls online, in line with UNESCO’s Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms.
