Italian students who opened social media accounts before adolescence scored significantly lower on national standardised tests in later years, with the deficit equivalent to roughly six months of lost schooling, according to a study published in Nature Human Behaviour that tracked 5,227 pupils across 28 schools in northern Italy.
Researchers led by Marco Gui at the University of Milan-Bicocca and the University of Brescia found that pupils who created their first account in sixth grade — typically aged 11 to 12 — posted lower Italian and mathematics results by eighth grade, with the gap persisting into tenth grade and widening slightly in mathematics. No comparable effect was detected in English scores. The study, based on data collected in 2023 and 2024 covering platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, noted that students who checked their smartphones more frequently were more likely to have joined social media at a younger age.
The findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that earlier exposure to social media products correlates with poorer academic outcomes.