A study of over 5,000 Italian schoolchildren has found a notable association between early social media adoption and lower academic performance on standardized assessments. Researchers discovered that pupils who opened their first social media account at ages 11 to 12 scored lower in mathematics and reading tests compared to those who waited until at least age 14. When tested at ages 15 to 16, the performance differential remained consistent for Italian language and actually widened for mathematics, with the gap representing approximately six months of educational progress.
The research team, led by Dr Marco Gui at the University of Milano-Bicocca, analyzed survey data on social media usage patterns alongside results from standardized examinations in mathematics, Italian, and English. The researchers controlled for multiple variables that could influence outcomes, including students’ prior academic performance, family structure, and parental education levels. Notably, the performance gap did not extend to English language proficiency, which researchers attribute to the prevalence of English-language content on social media platforms, potentially providing incidental language exposure and practice.
Frequency of phone checking emerged as one of the strongest predictors of the achievement gap. Researchers hypothesize that constant notifications and the compulsion to monitor social media activity throughout the day and night create a persistent state of cognitive distraction that interferes with homework completion and classroom engagement. Dr Gui suggested that this continuous alertness reduces physical presence and attention in home and family environments while diminishing the cognitive focus required for time-intensive academic tasks.
The findings arrive as regulatory discussions intensify globally regarding youth social media access. The United Kingdom is preparing to implement a social media restriction for users under 16, following Australia’s similar ban introduced previously. While Dr Gui supports age-based limitations on platform access, he characterizes outright bans as emergency measures and advocates for making platforms themselves less addictive through structural redesign. Dennis Ougrin from Queen Mary University of London noted the study contributes to accumulating evidence that initial engagement timing with social media may influence educational development, suggesting that the priority should be helping young people establish healthier usage patterns rather than pursuing prohibitions.
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