Teenage girls are missing out on sports and social activities as increasing numbers retreat to their bedrooms and spend more time on their phones, a study by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has found.
Two in five 15-year-old girls said they hardly ever leave their bedroom except to attend school, while one in five said they spend no evenings out with friends in a typical week.
More than 250,000 15-year-olds across England now spend most of their time in their rooms, according to the report. The figure has risen by 50 per cent among boys and girls since 2002.
One Year 8 girl told researchers: “Since I got my new phone I don’t want to come out my bedroom, and I’ve been more short-tempered and not feeling as energetic and active as I used to be.”
Teenage girls and school sport
The report, Inactive Nation: Getting England’s Teenagers Moving, said screen time was replacing sport and outdoor hobbies, with consequences for young people’s physical and mental health.
Half of teenage girls said they avoided school sports because they feared they would not be good enough, compared with 38 per cent of boys.
One in five girls said their school did not offer any physical activity they enjoyed. Seven in ten said they would be more active if schools provided a wider range of sports.
Tabby Fitzgerald, senior researcher at the CSJ, said: “Too many teenage girls are retreating into their bedrooms and onto screens while the independence that should be part of coming of age slips away.”
She added: “The answer is not just to restrict social media, but to put something better in its place.
“Sport and physical activity are good for our health, our resilience and for the friends we make along the way.”
