December 2022
Maths that helps in decision making. Year 10 Maths has been tackling data analysis, learning how collecting data can help make better decisions, especially when you share the results with the respondents. 70 students across different classes and age groups were asked the question “How much screen time did you have yesterday?” The results on initial investigation were interesting. “Our school average daily screen time is 5.6 hours, which is slightly less than the National average of 6.3 hours of screen time a day.” That sounds positive! But Harry goes onto discover, “It is recommended that 5-17 year olds have a maximum of two hours screen time each day. So we’re less than the National average, but well above what is recommended.” This was news to students and an encouragement to consider the repercussions of high levels of screen time.
What can we learn from this data?
Mr Russell Avery, Maths Teacher, explains the impact of these statistics: "Health issues associated with too much screen time are obesity, sleep problems, neck/back problems, depression and anxiety, lower test scores, poor eyesight. According to some sources, taking in more than 7 hours of screen time each day doubles the risk of depression or anxiety.
Were there any limitations to the survey?
Alfie: This a positively skewed graph. The National average is the purple line, our school average is the orange line and the green line in the recommended maximum. This last column includes people who had 11 hours or more screen time, so it includes people who had 12 hours, 13 hours and so on.
How accurate are the results?
Aysha suggests some thoughts, "There are some reasons why we think the school average we have calculated might not be accurate. The 11 plus column means we could only record a maximum score of 11 hours, when in reality some of us might have had more screen time than this. Many of our respondents only considered the time they had spent on their phones and did not include other screens such as TV or computers. Finally some of our respondents might not have been completely honest when answering. These factors would cause us to underestimate the true average. We also recorded some data following a weekend, and some of us might use our phones more on weekends. This would cause us to overestimate the true average. Considering all this, we think it is likely that our students actually consume more than 5.6 hours daily, which would bring us closer to the National average.
Important information that helps us to consider and re-evaluate how we use our screens. Thank you Year 10 Maths!