Increasing social media use in kids is linked to reduced thinking abilities

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-10-14 02:00

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US scientists say both small and big increases in social media use between the ages of nine and 13 are linked with lower performance in tests of cognitive abilities. The study tracked increases in social media use in 6,554 kids over four years, categorising them into three groups: no or very low social use; low increasing social use; and high increasing social use. The kids completed a range of cognitive tests, including tests of reading, memory and vocabulary. Small and big increase in social media use were both linked with lower scores in all the tests, the authors say. This may be because as kids spend more time on social media, they spend less time on schoolwork, they conclude.

Media release

From: JAMA

Social Media Use Trajectories and Cognitive Performance in Adolescents

About The Study: This analysis found that both low and high increases in social media use throughout early adolescence were significantly associated with lower performance in specific aspects of cognitive function, supporting a prior finding that greater screen time was negatively but weakly associated with adolescent cognitive performance.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of California, San Francisco, USA

Funder: The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (K08HL159350, R01DA064134, and R01MH135492).

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