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Kids who start social media earlier may do worse at school

Phys · · 429 words · By University
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What to know about Kids who start social media earlier may do worse at school

The article reports on a study published in Nature Human Behaviour involving over 5,000 Italian students, which suggests a correlation between early social media adoption and lower standardized test scores in Italian and mathematics. The authors of the study speculate that excessive engagement and attention disruptions may be factors, while noting the observational nature of the research.

Propaganda risk 0%
Claims checked 11
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center80%
Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Kids who start social media earlier may do worse at school Gaby Clark Scientific Editor Robert Egan Senior Editor Students who open a personal social media account earlier in adolescence appear to perform worse on later standardized tests, according to a…

Why it matters

The authors speculate that these differences may be attributable to excessive social media engagement and disruptions to students' attention.

Common ground

Social media use is widespread among teenagers, and most young people create their first account at age 10 or 11.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

The article reports on a study published in Nature Human Behaviour involving over 5,000 Italian students, which suggests a correlation between early social media adoption and lower standardized test scores in Italian and mathematics. The authors of the study speculate that excessive engagement and attention disruptions may be factors, while noting the observational nature of the research.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-08-kids-social-media-earlier-worse.html

analyticsAnalysis

0%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 4
check_circle Corroborated 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
schedule Pending 1
verified Verified By Reference 1
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Claim 1: “By grade 10 (ages 15–16), the test score gap remained at 0.22 standard deviations in Italian and widened to 0.27 standard deviations in mathematics.”
CORROBORATED
The specific gap of 0.22 in Italian and 0.27 in mathematics by grade 10 is explicitly mentioned in the web search results.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Italian(s) may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Italians (Italian: italiani, pronounced [itaˈljaːni]) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common culture, history, ancestry and language. Their a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italians
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern and Western Europe. It consists of a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 2: “The study found no evidence of differences in English scores.”
SINGLE SOURCE
One source mentions 'no evidence of differences in' (cut off), but it is not independently corroborated by other provided sources.
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web search NEUTRAL — Marco Gui et al, Longitudinal effect of early social media use on standardized learning outcomes during school career, Nature Human Behaviour (2026).MA in English, copy editor since 2021 with experien…
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-kids-social-media-earlier-wors…
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web search NEUTRAL — Marco Gui, an associate professor of sociology, the study of human society and social behavior, and one of the study's authors, said that while the findings are complex, the research suggests that soc…
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/lifestyle/early-social-media-us…
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web search NEUTRAL — New study shows children using social media at younger ages score lower in tests. Discover the impact and tips for parents on delaying social media.
https://grandgoldman.com/blogs/business/social-media-at-youn…
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Claim 3: “the authors note that, in this study, 0.2 standard deviations is equivalent to six months' worth of schooling.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources confirm that 0.2 standard deviations is equivalent to approximately six months of schooling.
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web search NEUTRAL — Test score differences at grade 10 were generally smaller for students who opened an account in grade 7 (12 to 13 years) — who scored 0.17 and 0.22 standard deviations lower in Italian and mathematics…
https://www.natureasia.com/en/info/press-releases/detail/940…
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web search NEUTRAL — By age 15 to 16, this score disparity remained constant in Italian and widened in math, representing an academic lag roughly equivalent to six months of schooling, or about half the performance gain t…
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/lifestyle/early-social-media-us…
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web search NEUTRAL — This Statistics video tutorial explains how to calculate the standard deviation using 2 examples.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaTFpp-uzp0
info
Claim 4: “Compared with students who opened a social media account in grade 9 (ages 14–15) or later, those who opened an account in grade 6 (ages 11–12) scored around 0.22 standard deviations lower in Italian and 0.18 standard deviations lower in mathematics by grade 8 (ages 13–14 years).”
SINGLE SOURCE
The general finding of lower scores for early adopters is corroborated, but the specific statistical values (0.22 and 0.18 standard deviations) are not explicitly repeated across multiple independent sources in the provided text.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Italian Catholic Federation of University Students (Italian: Federazione Universitaria Cattolica Italiana, FUCI) is a federation of groups representing Roman Catholic university students in Italy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Catholic_Federation_of…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern and Western Europe. It consists of a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Student Action (Azione Studentesca, AS) is a far-right student movement in Italy, formerly connected to National Alliance and since 2016 to Brothers of Italy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_Action_(Italy)
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 5: “Marco Gui and colleagues analyzed survey data on social media habits—which included use of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok—collected between 2023 and 2024, along with standardized test records in Italian, English and mathematics for students from 28 northern Italian schools.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific details regarding Marco Gui, the 2023-2024 timeframe, the specific platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), and the 28 northern Italian schools are not explicitly detailed in the provided evidence snippets, although the study's existence is confirmed.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Larissa de Macedo Machado (born 30 March 1993), known professionally as Anitta (Brazilian Portuguese: [ɐˈnitɐ] ), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, and occasional television host. One…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anitta_(singer)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Chinese censorship abroad refers to extraterritorial censorship by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and government of the People's Republic of China that is conducted beyond the country's own borders…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_censorship_abroad
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 6: “Marco Gui et al, Longitudinal effect of early social media use on standardized learning outcomes during school career, Nature Human Behaviour (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-026-02522-4”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 7: “They were also less likely to have had parental supervision of their social media use.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim.
info
Claim 8: “Test score differences in grade 10 were generally smaller for students who opened an account in grade 7 (ages 12–13)—who scored 0.17 and 0.22 standard deviations lower in Italian and mathematics, respectively—or grade 8—who scored 0.11 standard deviations lower in both Italian and mathematics.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific breakdown of deficits for grade 7 (0.17/0.22) and grade 8 (0.11) adopters is mentioned in one source but not corroborated by others in the provided evidence.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The grade (US) or gradient (UK) (also called slope, incline, mainfall, pitch or rise) of a physical feature, landform or constructed line is either the elevation angle of that surface to the horizonta…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_(slope)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the amount of years a student has completed in an educational stage (e.g. first grade, second grade, K–12, etc.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Use this calculator to find out the grade needed on the final exam in order to get a desired grade in a course. It accepts letter grades, percentage grades, and other numerical inputs.
https://www.calculator.net/grade-calculator.html
verified
Claim 9: “most young people create their first account at age 10 or 11.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While evidence mentions that students who created accounts between 11 and 12 performed worse, no source explicitly states that the 'majority' or 'most' young people create their first account at age 10 or 11.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 10 (ten) is the natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of decimal numeral systems, the most common systems for denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. The English n…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 10-10-321, 10-10-345, 10-10-220, and 10-10-987 are United States long-distance phone services best known for their prolific television and direct mail advertising in the late 1990s. 10-10-321 was the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10-10-321
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Ten or The 10 may refer to: The Ten (film), the 2007 American film The TEN, an international athletics meeting and 10,000 m race The Ten American Painters, an American Impressionist artists' grou…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ten
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 10: “Students who open a personal social media account earlier in adolescence appear to perform worse on later standardized tests, according to a study in Nature Human Behaviour based on 5,227 Italian students.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm a study in Nature Human Behaviour involving 5,227 Italian students found that earlier social media use correlates with worse performance on later standardized tests.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the ess…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_nature
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In human anatomy, the penis (; pl.: penises or penes; from the Latin pēnis, initially 'tail') is an external sex organ (intromittent organ) through which males ejaculate and urinate. Together with the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_penis
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species is a British nature documentary series written and presented by English zoologist Desmond Morris, first transmitted on BBC One in the United King…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Human_Animal_(TV_series)
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 11: “students who reported checking their phones more frequently were more likely to have opened a social media account earlier and tended to have lower Italian and mathematics scores by grade 10.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.