Long-term Effects of Early Social Networks Use on Standardized Learning Outcomes

This study employs Difference-in-Differences models to evaluate the impact of early social media use on academic performance among youths aged 7 to 16. A unique dataset comprising 5,227 students from Northern Italy was constructed merging data from a specially designed questionnaire on lifetime digital media habits with longitudinal standardized test scores in Italian and English languages, and mathematics. Participants who created a personal social media account in the 6th, 7th, or 8th grade were separately matched with late adopters, who initiated their first social media account in the 9th grade or later. The findings provide compelling evidence that early engagement with social media adversely affects learning outcomes. Additional evidence of the effects of early social media engagement on other academic outcomes for which we lack a longitudinal component (school marks, grade repetitions, track enrolment and self-efficacy) is in line with our main findings. We also find supporting evidence that a substantial part of this negative effect is related to the pervasiveness of the use of students’ smartphones in key moments of the day. These results hold significant implications for educators, policymakers, and parents, contributing to the ongoing debate on children's exposure to social media and its consequences for their well-functioning.

Speaker:
Giovanni Abbiati is Associate Professor at the University of Brescia. His research activity focuses on topics such as educational inequalities, evaluation of public policies, social stratification and educational choices. He has participated in numerous national and international research projects, publishing the results in important academic journals, including “European Sociological Review”, “Economics of Education Review” and “Evaluation Review”. He coordinated the design and data analysis unit of the EYES UP study that investigated the effects of early use of social networks on adolescents’ academic skills.