A study of 750 Canadians aged 16 to 30 has yielded some shocking results. The study asked young people what they would be most willing to trade in place of social media.

While the majority would only sacrifice things like alcohol or video games, almost 10% of survey respondents said they would agree to not be able to have children, lose a relationship, or lose a year of their life to maintain their social media connections.5% said they would lose five years of their life, while 3% said they would be happy to die a decade earlier.

Researcher Sarah Woodruff, professor of kinesiology in the faculty of human kinesiology at the University of Windsor, was part of the team that developed the study. She finds the result troubling and attributes it to the fact that people in this age group don’t remember the time without social media.

“We were very shocked. It shows how involved social media is in their daily lives,” Woodruff said. The younger the respondents, the more they were willing to sacrifice to maintain their Internet connections, she added. “As they grow up … they realize that there is more and more to life than what they see on the Internet,” she said.

“And what they found is that the younger you were when you got your first Internet-connected device, the poorer your current mental state,” Cunningham said, adding that the advent of smartphones has fueled a greater addiction to social media.

CBC News asked some Gen Zers what they would give to social media, but most wouldn’t sacrifice much.

“I’m not very interested in social media myself, so I don’t have any problem leaving it completely,” said Melena Biniam.

“Social media is … boring,” said Jeanne Lockett, 25.

Shaundel Harris, 37, will choose to maintain social media over relationships.

“He’s overrated,” Harris said. Cunningham recommends that parents keep children off social media for as long as possible. At least until the late teens he suggests.