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.
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72 Articles
The results indicated that students who opened social media accounts in grades 6 or 7 showed lower scores in mathematics and Italian
If you access social media early on, you get worse grades. An Italian long-term study shows measurable learning losses – and asks uncomfortable questions to parents and politics.
A new study from Italy confirms the concerns of many parents: Those who travel on Instagram or Tiktok at a young age have lower grades. However, in a school subject there is a surprising positive effect for the teenagers.
For students, an early social media account may come with a lasting classroom cost
Researchers linked retrospective digital-habit surveys from 5,227 northern Italian students with standardized test records spanning grades 2–10, including 4,545 students in the principal longitudinal analysis. Students who opened social media accounts in grades 6 or 7 had lower later Italian and mathematics scores than matched students who waited until grade 9 or later, although residual confounding cannot be excluded.
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