Overview
- Researchers analyzed data from more than 6,000 ABCD Study participants tracked from ages 9–10 into early adolescence and grouped them by social media use trajectories.
- Children with low‑increasing use (about one hour per day by age 13) scored roughly 1–2 points lower, and high‑increasing users (three or more hours) up to 4–5 points lower, on NIH reading, vocabulary and memory tests versus peers with little or no use.
- The authors emphasize the findings are observational and do not prove causation, noting hypotheses such as displaced homework time and changes in attention and reward processing require further study.
- A separate JAMA Network Open study following Ontario children reported that each additional hour of early‑childhood screen time was linked to about a 9–10% lower likelihood of higher scores in reading and math.
- Policy responses are accelerating: Australia’s Communications Minister Anika Wells unveiled outreach ahead of enforcing an under‑16 social media ban on December 10, while Google’s Rachel Lord warned that removing accounts could undercut supervised controls and safety filters.