Study: Early Social Media Use Hurts Kids' Math Scores
A study of 5,227 students found earlier account creation was linked to lower math and Italian scores, higher grade-repetition risk, and weaker academic confidence.
- On Monday, Nature Human Behaviour published a study by Marco Gui et al. examining over 5,000 students in Lombardy, Italy, linking early social media account creation to lower standardized school performance.
- Students who opened accounts in 6th or 7th grade experienced significant score drops compared to peers waiting until 9th grade, with early adopters losing six months of math learning by 10th grade.
- Distraction during homework, bedtime, and school hours drives this decline, Dr. Poppy Gibson of The Open University said, while Dr. Eoin Whelan of the University of Galway identified the 'child's inability to control their use' as a primary factor.
- Experts urge caution given the observational nature of the research; Prof. Kevin McConway of The Open University praised the authors for advising that 'findings should be interpreted cautiously' due to reliance on student memory.
- Educators emphasize that digital literacy training, rather than simple bans, will better prepare teenagers to 'live in a society shaped by technology' through responsible and ethical use.
62 Articles
62 Articles
Children who create social media accounts between the ages of 11 and 12 show lower results in mathematics and reading than those of their peers who delay social networking for several years.
More than 5,200 Italian teenagers configure the sample, analyzed by the University of Milan
Opening a Social Media Account Before Age 12 Could Affect School Performance, According to One Study
A research published in Nature Human Behaviour followed more than 5200 Italian students and found that those who started using social media at an earlier age had worse results in standardized tests
According to a survey of 5,227 Italian students, young people who open an account in pre-teen age get worse results at the Invalsi tests. The expert hypothesis: "The pervasiveness of social media is affected by their assessments"
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