Some four out of five (79 per cent) students in Ireland admit accessing social media at school, with 44 per cent of students accessing it between one and five times in every school day. More than 1,000 individuals between the ages of 13 and 18 participated in the BT Young Scientist Survey.
When asked about the duration of the average single visit to social media sites, 26 per cent claimed to spend between two and five minutes on social media per visit. One third of the respondents admitted staying online between six and 10 minutes per visit with 38 per cent spending more than 10 minutes on social media sites per individual visit.
Three out of five (59 per cent) students depend on social media and the Internet to help with schoolwork, while 71 per cent of students say they feel that social media has helped them identify and connect with friends with similar interests.
Mari Cahalane, head of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition commented: "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. Almost any interest could be a potential project, so I would encourage students to get thinking and submit their one page entry before October 1."
