It’s something everyone suspected, but now it’s official: The under-30 crowd is addicted to their cell phones. Teen’s are addicted to video games and the same above.

Those are the findings of a new survey, which showed that as millennials spend more time engaged on social media platforms, it’s causing them to be less social in real life. The study, conducted by Flashgap, a photo-sharing application with more than 150,000 users, found that 87 percent of millennials admitted to missing out on a conversation because they were distracted by their phone. Meanwhile, 54 percent said they experience a fear of missing out if not checking social networks.

Nearly 3,000 participants were asked about how they felt about social media in social settings, and found that the guiltiest culprits are often females. The study found 76 percent of females check social media platforms at least 10 times when out with friends, compared with 54 percent of males.
The most commonly used apps mentioned in social settings among millennials were Snapchat, Tinder, Facebook, Messenger and Instagram.
Julian Kabab, co-founder of FlashGap said that people are too focused on looking at social media when they’re out at events, and it may be costing them in social interaction. “People miss out on parties because they want to see what’s going on, on social networks, take beautiful selfies and add filters to their pictures,” he told CNBC.
It especially becomes a problem when there is alcohol involved and regrets the next morning. The survey found that 71 percent of users regret posting a picture on a social network after more than three drinks.

FlashGap’s findings echo a similar study conducted in 2014, where research suggested that cell phones were increasingly undermining personal interactions. The widely circulated Virginia Tech University report said that “the presence of mobile technologies has the potential to divert individuals from face-to-face exchanges, thereby undermining the character and depth of these connections.”

Concerns are growing that the practical impact of mobile device use is making humans more interested in their online lives, and less interested in each other. Yet Kebab told CNBC his intent for FlashGap was to help millenials make their experiences more relevant in real life.

In college, Kabab said he and his friends had strapped on GoPro cameras during parties and would gather the next day to watch one another’s footage. “The experience was so fun that I said that we had to scale this emotion with an app,” Kebab, whose company has 14 employees and is based in Paris.

“Discovering parts of your nights out you didn’t see at the same time as your friends felt exactly like the end scene of ‘The Hangover’ movie, and that’s when it clicked,” he said.

FlashGap is entering a hotly competitive space where any of the big players vying for millennials’ eyes already have a head start. The app was launched in France and recently raised $1.5 million in seed round funding to branch out to the United States.

The dominance of Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, all owned by Facebook, and Snapchat, valued at $16 billion by some estimates, raising questions as to how easy it might be for new entrants to get into the space.

“Shifting behaviors in a core audience are certainly factors as we consider investments,” Ellie Wheeler, a venture capitalist at Greycroft, told CNBC. “We’re seeing a lot of interesting ways to deliver mobile-first content and how that content needs to change in order to be right for mobile behavior.”

Wheeler acknowledges that social sharing is still an increasingly important piece of a person’s online identity.

“It is something that a generation that has grown up with social from day one has to learn in a way that past generations have not,” Wheeler said.
Uptin Saiidi

Children and adolescent teens are spending 40 plus hours a week on technology and a majority of youth are not developing social skills .

In many research studies children that have strong social skills and emotional skills were more likely than their peers to succeed academically as well as professionally . One study followed children for over twenty years .

Social abilities are more than just having friends . Social competence includes the ability to be a team player , resolve conflicts , listen to others, make suggestions without judgment or criticism .

In a large research study twenty five years ago academic teachers used an assessment tool the educational leaders were asked to assign each child a score based on qualities that included : team work, cooperates with peers without prompting., helpful to others, understands feelings; and independent problem solver.

One huge result was that the children that scored high on the above criteria were over FOUR TIMES more likely to graduate from college.

Another result showed that academic success is not enough for career or life success. Children need to learn self awareness, and social awareness, self management, and emotional strength in order to have successful futures. Social and emotional skills: mood regulation, stress management, healthy communication with peers and family are vital for healthy adults.

Children and teens with poor social skills were more likely to have : substance abuse problems, be unemployed , receive public assistance , and more .

The positive piece of the study was that children and teens can develop social skills throughout childhood with some practice and work. Your child’s success in life all around: relationships, happiness, career happiness and life joy’s are connected to strong social skills.

Developing the whole child is very important. Teaching your child or teen kills to communicate with peers and family in healthy ways, tools to make friends and keep friends, skills to manage stress in life, mood regulation skills, healthy diet, exercise, and creating overall balance in your child’s life.

Many children and teens struggle making friends at school or outside of
school . It is easy to get lost in : video games, tv, Facebook, twitter,
instagram, you tube, texting,
movies and all the technology that is all around us. Many children and
teens suffer from mood issues and anger due to their lack of self esteem
and inability to make friends
and keep them. The failure to learn social skills can lead to isolation,
feelings of loneliness, frustration, rejection, and very low self
esteem. Social skills are important because they
allow us to interact with society and be understood as well as
understand others. People that have good interpersonal skills are viewed
in society as competent and successful. Children and
teens that have poor social skills are seen as inept and unable to
relate to the world, obtain a quality job, unable to have valuable
relationships and more.

Social skills are learned behaviors. They are taught with family and
reinforced in the school and the community. Parents setting rules and
standards is important for acceptable behaviors.The
social skills that make up that base of social understanding are:
learning to be patient, taking turns, being respectful to elders and
parents and authority, praising others, being thankful, manners,
listening to others, waiting your turn to speak, knowing what is
appropriate to talk about with others, setting healthy boundaries:
verbally, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Parents can ask themselves if their child or teen has the ability to
make quality long term friendships. Is your child: cooperative, a good
listener, able to talk to other people, helpful,
able to share my possessions with others, can take advise from my friend
without getting anger, can be trusted with secrets, can support their
friends and family, can give helpful advise,

Learning strong social skills is important for: family, friends, dating,
meeting acquaintances, strangers, dating and more. Social skills can
impact: employment , careers, keeping a job, education,
and more. Children can learn appropriate skills like: effective
listening, mirroring, empathy, healthy communication skills and more to
create success in all areas of life.