Children who join TikTok and Instagram at 11 are 'six months behind' at school by their GCSE years, study finds
Analysis revealed that compared with students who opened a social media account at the age of 14 or 15, those who opened one aged 11 or 12 scored significantly…
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Summary
Analysis revealed that compared with students who opened a social media account at the age of 14 or 15, those who opened one aged 11 or 12 scored significantly lower in Italian and maths by the age of 15 to 16. Commenting on the findings Dennis Ougrin, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Queen Mary University of London, said: 'The study adds to growing evidence that the age at which young people first engage with social media may matter for their educational development. The score gap for Italian remained at age 15 to 16, but widened for maths.
Furthermore, Children who open social media accounts at the start of secondary school appear to perform worse in tests than those who delay, with researchers suspecting that the constant checking for updates is a major distraction for many students. 'In the short term, policies that delay social media access until children are cognitively mature enough to manage its potential distractions could be beneficial.' It comes as the UK government has announced plans to ban social media for under–16s in the spring of next year. 'This endorses and extends previous research which has highlighted the potential for digital distractions to interfere with students' learning and school performance.' However, they found that using social media at a younger age had no impact on English scores.
Cross-referenced from 3 sources.
Factual coreconfirmed by several independent voices
Analysis revealed that compared with students who opened a social media account at the age of 14 or 15, those who opened one aged 11 or 12 scored significantly lower in Italian and maths by the age of 15 to 16.
reliability low1/3 sourcesCommenting on the findings Dennis Ougrin, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Queen Mary University of London, said: 'The study adds to growing evidence that the age at which young people first engage with social media may matter for their educational development.
reliability low1/3 sources
Reported detailssecondary facts, each attributed to its source
The score gap for Italian remained at age 15 to 16, but widened for maths.
according to The Guardian - UKChildren who open social media accounts at the start of secondary school appear to perform worse in tests than those who delay, with researchers suspecting that the constant checking for updates is a major distraction for many students.
according to The Guardian - UK'In the short term, policies that delay social media access until children are cognitively mature enough to manage its potential distractions could be beneficial.' It comes as the UK government has announced plans to ban social media for under–16s in the spring of next year.
according to Daily Mail +1'This endorses and extends previous research which has highlighted the potential for digital distractions to interfere with students' learning and school performance.' However, they found that using social media at a younger age had no impact on English scores.
according to Daily Mail +1
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