[Reading Science]Is Social Media Really Harmful to Studying?

Two Studies Analyze Digital Habits of Adolescents

"When and What They Do Matters More Than How Much Time They Spend"

Does starting social media early lead to lower academic performance? Does prolonged screen time negatively impact a child's development?

Two studies published in international academic journals appear, at first glance, to offer conflicting conclusions. One study reported that students who started using social media earlier had lower standardized test scores. In contrast, the other study found no clear association between screen time and the emotional or behavioral development of children and adolescents. However, experts have evaluated both studies as conveying the same message: "When and how children use media is more important than how many hours they spend on it."

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A research team from the University of Milano-Bicocca in Italy analyzed data on social media usage habits between 2023 and 2024, along with the standardized test scores of more than 5,000 students from 28 schools in northern Italy. Their findings were published on August 4 in the international academic journal 'Nature Human Behaviour.'

The results showed that students who created social media accounts at the ages of 11-12 (6th grade) scored 0.22 standard deviations lower in Italian and 0.18 standard deviations lower in mathematics on 8th grade tests, compared to those who opened accounts at ages 14-15 (9th grade or later). This difference persisted in 10th grade, with a 0.22 standard deviation gap in Italian and 0.27 in mathematics. The research team explained that a difference of 0.2 standard deviations corresponds to approximately six months of academic achievement.

However, this indicates only the average difference between groups of students who created accounts early and those who did so later; it does not prove a direct causal relationship between social media use and lower grades. The research team suggested as possible reasons the distraction of attention during study caused by habits such as frequently checking smartphones while doing homework or before sleep.

"Screen time alone does not tell the whole story"

On the other hand, a team from Imperial College London reported in the international journal 'JAMA Network Open' on the same day that, after a long-term study tracking 3,786 children, they found no clear link between screen time and psychosocial development.

After adjusting for environmental factors such as family functioning, the researchers concluded that most types of screen use had no meaningful relevance to development at ages five and ten. At age 15, only those who played electronic games excessively showed a higher score for developmental difficulties, and there was no consistent association found with other types of screen use.

Accordingly, the team pointed out the limitations of current guidelines that are based solely on screen time.

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Experts: "The key is not how much, but how"

Experts assessed that the two studies do not contradict each other, but instead highlight different aspects.

Kim Youngouk, professor at the Department of Communication and Media at Ewha Womans University, said, "Recent digital media research focuses less on how long media is used (screen time) and more on how it is experienced (screen experience)," adding, "Even within an hour, the psychological outcomes can be completely different if one spends it meaningfully communicating with friends versus endlessly consuming content and engaging in repeated social comparison."

Andohyun, professor at the Department of Media and Public Relations at Jeju National University, said, "Neither study measured what adolescents actually did on social media," and added, "Since previous studies have shown that using media for learning purposes can in fact have positive effects, it is difficult to judge the impact based solely on usage hours."

He continued, "What the Italian study suggests is not that lower grades are simply due to studying less, but that concentration may have been broken by checking smartphones during study time," and explained, "Rather than simply reducing total usage time, it is likely more effective to limit smartphone use specifically during study sessions."

Professor An emphasized, "Ultimately, what both studies together tell us is this: it's not how many hours are spent, but when and for what the media is being used."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.