Teenagers who use internet to excess ‘more likely to skip school’

But truancy and illness-related absences can be reversed with good sleeping habits and strong family ties, study suggests

Young people who spend too much time online are more likely to miss school through illness or truancy, a study has suggested.

Teenage girls appear to be more likely than teenage boys to score highly on excessive internet use, the findings indicate. But a good amount of sleep and exercise and a trusting relationship with their parents appear to go some way to reducing the effects of extreme web use on classroom absences.