A report from the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom confirms children are avid social media users. Some 99% of children aged three to 17 used the internet in 2021. YouTube was the most popular platform, with 89% of children using it

Kuss, Daria

English

LSE Research Online

How	social	media	affects	children	at	different	ages	–and	how	to	protect	themA	report	from	the	UK’s	communications	regulator	Ofcom	confirms	children	are	avid	socialmedia	users.	Some	99%	of	children	aged	three	to	17	used	the	internet	in	2021.	YouTubewas	the	most	popular	platform,	with	89%	of	children	using	it.	Meanwhile,	half	of	kids	usedTikTok,	a	popular	site	which	allows	users	to	watch	and	share	short	videos.Most	social	media	platforms	require	users	to	be	aged	13	or	older.	Nonetheless,	the	reportfound	that	a	majority	of	children	under	13	had	their	own	profile	on	at	least	one	social	mediaapp	or	site.	One-third	of	parents	of	children	aged	five	to	seven	said	their	child	had	a	profile,which	rose	to	60%	among	children	aged	eight	to	11.Overcoming	these	age	restrictions	is	clearly	not	a	difficult	task.	Children	simply	supply	a	fake	age	when	setting	uptheir	account.	Meanwhile,	some	children	have	multiple	accounts	on	the	same	platform	–	one	for	their	friends,	andanother	for	their	parents.The	report	also	found	that	roughly	16%	of	three	and	four-year-olds	watch	videos	on	TikTok.	This	could	be	childrenbeing	shown	videos	by	a	parent	or	somebody	else,	and	does	not	mean	they	have	their	own	account.	But	they	arestill	being	exposed	to	social	media	content	at	a	very	young	age.With	these	findings	in	mind,	it’s	timely	to	take	a	look	at	what	we	know	about	how	social	media	use	can	affectchildren	across	different	age	groups.The	good	and	the	badEngaging	with	social	media	can	have	both	positive	and	negative	effects	on	people,	especially	children.	Mycolleagues	and	I	have	shown	that	social	media	use	is	important	for	emotional	support,	community	building	and	self-expression	among	adolescents,	but	that	it	can	negatively	impact	mental	health	and	wellbeing	as	well.In	our	work	at	the	Cyberpsychology	Research	Group	at	Nottingham	Trent	University,	we	have	talked	to	youngadolescents,	their	parents	and	teachers	about	perceived	challenges	and	online	harms	from	social	media	use.	Wefound	that	the	effects	range	from	spending	increasing	amounts	of	time	online,	behaviour	change	due	to	anticipatedjudgement	from	peers,	and	sensory	overload,	to	more	serious	cognitive	and	emotional	consequences	such	asattention	problems,	stress	and	anxiety.New	research	suggests	that	there	appear	to	be	differences	across	age	groups	with	regards	to	the	effects	socialmedia	use	can	have	on	life	satisfaction.	In	a	large	UK	sample	of	over	17,000	young	people	aged	ten	to	21,researchers	found	the	detrimental	effects	of	high	levels	of	social	media	use	may	be	especially	pronounced	at	ages14-15	and	19	for	boys,	and	11-13	and	19	for	girls.	Former	Facebook	employee	Frances	Haugen	revealed	in	2021that	internal	Facebook	research	has	repeatedly	shown	detrimental	mental	health	impacts	of	Instagram	use	foryoung	girls.Separately,	we	know	excessive	screen	time	can	be	associated	with	symptoms	of	stress,	anxiety,	depression	andaddiction.	Recommendations	from	the	American	Academy	of	Pediatrics	suggest	no	screen	time	for	children	undertwo,	and	a	maximum	of	one	hour	per	day	for	those	aged	two	to	five	years,	focused	on	high-quality	content	(forexample,	content	which	is	educational).	While	we	don’t	know	exactly	what	kind	of	content	young	children	arewatching	on	social	media,	it’s	unlikely	to	be	high-quality,	and	could	be	harmful.What	can	we	do?With	the	recently	published	Online	Safety	Bill,	the	UK	government	aims	to	make	the	UK	the	safest	place	in	theworld	to	go	online.	Accordingly,	we	need	to	consider	the	potentially	detrimental	impacts	internet	use	in	general	andexcessive	social	media	use	specifically	can	have	on	young	people,	especially	those	who	are	vulnerable.Parenting for a Digital Future: How social media affects children at different ages – and how to protect them Page 1 of 2		Date originally posted: 2022-05-04Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/parenting4digitalfuture/2022/05/04/social-media-at-different-ages/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/parenting4digitalfuture/We	need	to	see	increased	user	protection	(such	as	age	verification	measures)	and	harm	prevention	initiatives	(suchas	school-based	education	about	the	benefits	and	potential	harms	of	social	media	use).	We	also	need	to	see	theinvolvement	of	community	and	government	organisations	in	education	and	awareness	campaigns,	as	well	as	afocus	on	increased	corporate	social	responsibility,	where	the	industry	takes	an	active	approach	in	designingproducts	with	the	best	interests	of	the	user	in	mind.While	we	discourage	over-pathologising	everyday	behaviour	–	for	example,	we	shouldn’t	assume	everyone	whospends	a	few	hours	online	has	a	problem	with	their	internet	use	–	problematic	behaviour	needs	to	be	acknowledgedand	users	need	to	be	supported.	This	can	prevent	it	leading	to	negative	mental	health	consequences.Support	for	young	internet	users	needs	to	come	from	parents,	teachers,	governments	and	the	social	mediaindustry.	Parents	can	be	encouraged	to	start	an	open	dialogue	with	their	children,	which	will	build	rapport	and	allowchildren	to	open	up	about	their	social	media	use.NotesThis	text	was	originally	published	on	The	Conversation	blog	and	has	been	re-posted	with	permission.This	post	represents	the	views	of	the	authors	and	not	the	position	of	the	Parenting	for	a	Digital	Future	blog,	nor	ofthe	London	School	of	Economics	and	Political	Science.Featured	image:	photo	by	Antony	on	FlickrParenting for a Digital Future: How social media affects children at different ages – and how to protect them Page 2 of 2		Date originally posted: 2022-05-04Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/parenting4digitalfuture/2022/05/04/social-media-at-different-ages/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/parenting4digitalfuture/

How social media affects children at different ages – and how to protect them

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How social media affects children at different ages – and how to protect them

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