Children who start using social media at a younger age may be putting their future academic performance at risk, according to a new study that tracked more than 5,000 students in Italy.
Researchers found that adolescents who opened their first personal social media account at ages 11 to 12 went on to score significantly lower in standardized tests than peers who waited until age 14 or 15.
The differences persisted for years and, in some cases, grew larger over time.
The findings also carry a message for parents wondering when children should be allowed to join social media.
According to corresponding author Chiara Respi, of the University of Milano-Bicocca in Italy, the research suggests that waiting until around ages 13 to 14 may be beneficial.
“At the same time, for an age limit to be effective, it should be accompanied by a comprehensive digital education program that engages both families and schools, with the aim of promoting the constructive use of digital platforms,” Respi told Newsweek.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, are based on data from 5,227 students attending 28 schools in northern Italy.
Researchers combined surveys about social media habits collected between 2023 and 2024 with official standardized test scores in Italian, English and mathematics.
Students who created a social media account in sixth grade, typically ages 11 to 12, scored around 0.22 standard deviations lower in Italian and 0.18 standard deviations lower in mathematics by eighth grade compared with those who did not join social media until ninth grade or later.
According to the authors, a difference of 0.2 standard deviations is roughly equivalent to six months of schooling.
The gap did not disappear as children got older. By 10th grade, students who had joined social media earlier still scored 0.22 standard deviations lower in Italian, while the difference in mathematics widened to 0.27 standard deviations.
The study also found a dose-response pattern. Students who waited until seventh or eighth grade to open accounts still tended to perform worse than those who joined later, but the differences were smaller than among the earliest adopters.
Interestingly, researchers found no evidence that early social media use affected English-language test scores.
To understand why the relationship might exist, the team examined other aspects of students’ technology habits.
Children who reported checking their phones more frequently were more likely to have started using social media earlier and were also more likely to have lower scores in Italian and mathematics by age 15 or 16.
They were less likely to have parental supervision of their social media use as well.
Asked what practical steps families could take, Respi said parents should help children understand how social media can affect attention and concentration.
“Parents should help children understand the distracting nature of social media while promoting the importance of engaging deeply with content and developing critical thinking through face-to-face interpersonal interactions,” she explained.
Respi also encouraged families to protect screen-free time: “Parents should encourage children to preserve spaces and moments dedicated to face-to-face experiences, free from the distractions and interference of social media.”
The researchers also suggested that excessive engagement with social media and disruptions to attention may help explain the findings.
However, they stressed that the results should be interpreted cautiously given the ongoing debate about the role of social media in young people’s lives.
Reference
Gui, M., Respi, C., Abbiati, G. et al. Longitudinal effect of early social media use on standardized learning outcomes during school career. Nat Hum Behav (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-026-02522-4.
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Kara Dolman and Gray R. Thomas.
