Social Media Use Linked to Lower Reading and Memory Scores in Children

A recent study found that higher social media use in early adolescence was associated with lower performance in certain cognitive functions.

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A little more than an hour of additional social media use each day is enough to drag down adolescents’ reading and memory scores, according to a new study that tracked more than 6,500 children as their screen time climbed during early adolescence.

Based on data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, researchers measured cognitive skills in children aged 9 to 13 using standardized tests of reading, memory, and vocabulary. The findings revealed that even low levels of increased social media use were associated with measurably poorer performance.

Small Increases, Measurable Impact

The study, recently published in JAMA, divided participants into three groups based on their social media habits and the trends of those habits. In one, about 58 percent showed no or very low social media use, in another, 37 percent had low increasing use, and in a final group, nearly 6 percent demonstrated high increasing social media use.