Is social media impacting students’ academic performance? What new research reveals
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that students who spend more time on social media, between the ages of 9 and 13, perform worse on tests of reading, memory, and language two years later.
Researchers say even limited social media use, as little as an hour a day, was linked to slightly lower academic performance. The findings suggest that the brains of young students may be particularly sensitive to social media exposure, making it important for students to build healthy tech habits early.
For educators and families, this study highlights the growing importance of empowering students to strike a balance and navigate technology in mindful ways, both in and out of the classroom.
What to Know:
Researchers from the University of California–San Francisco analyzed data from more than 6,500 students as part of the nationwide Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study: the largest long-term study of brain development in the U.S.
- The results: Students who spent up to three hours daily on social media scored as much as four points lower on reading and memory tests compared to students who rarely used social media.
- Why it matters: Skills like reading comprehension and memory are essential to learning and can impact students’ academic performance as a whole.
- Possible causes: Researchers suggest that social media can take away time spent on reading, studying, or resting, all key to supporting students’ academic performance.
Over the past few years, states across the country have enacted cell phone policies, whether that is requiring an outright ban or mandating schools put a policy in place, and schools are working hard to empower distraction-free learning. These findings reinforce the importance of helping students strike a balance and build mindful tech habits early on.
Key Takeaways:
Helping students strike a balance with tech and social media isn’t about banning social media or devices. It’s about empowering and equipping them with mindfulness and self-control skills with tech. By empowering students to strike a balance and strengthening their understanding of how social media affects their brains, focus, and motivation, educators can guide them toward healthier, more intentional screen habits that support their academic success.
Here’s how educators can help students build healthy tech habits that fuel their success:
- Connect the dots between screens and learning: Discuss how attention, memory, and learning are impacted by distraction and constant scrolling.
- Use tech to control tech: Teach students about in-app time limits or Focus Mode to limit their distractions while they try to focus or set “scroll-free” study times.
- Remind students that not all screen time is equal: We encourage educators to use the Screen Time Pyramid – which is similar to the classic food pyramid – to remind students to spend less time on passive scrolling and more time on shared, meaningful experiences with technology, like FaceTiming a loved one, reading an e-book, or watching a movie together as a family.
- Empower students to coach up: Huddle with your students and allow them to show you how they are using social media or tech. Something we encourage is creating a Classroom Tech Policy together to brainstorm the standards you will have for technology in your classroom.
- Model responsible tech use: Lead by example and show students what balanced device use looks like during lessons and breaks.
Researchers from this study urge schools to start equipping students with healthy tech habits early, so they’re empowered to navigate tech responsibly when they inevitably get their own devices. Start building the foundations for navigating technology in healthy ways, as early as Kindergarten, by requesting a demo of #WinAtSocial Strike A Balance Lessons.
Plus, preview the 3rd-5th-grade lesson, Discovering healthy habits for happy brains, to equip your students with healthy tech habits early.
The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in equipping students, families, and educators with modern life skills to impact learning, well-being, and students’ futures. Through #WinAtSocial, our interactive, peer-to-peer learning platform, we integrate teacher PD, family resources, student voice insights, and more to empower entire school communities to make positive choices online and offline. #WinAtSocial Lessons teach essential skills while capturing student voice and actionable insights for educators. These insights help educators maintain a healthy school culture, foster high-impact teaching, and build meaningful relationships with families. Our unique, student-respected approach empowers and equips students authentically, enabling our solution to increase classroom participation and improve student-teacher relationships. Through our one-of-a-kind lesson development process, we create lessons for a variety of core and elective classes, incorporating timely topics such as social media, A.I., screen time, misinformation, and current events to help schools stay proactive in supporting student health, happiness, and academic success.