Negative influence of early social media use on school outcomes

Nature Human Behaviour, Published online: 03 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41562-026-02523-3 A longitudinal study of Italian students revealed a significant negative effect of early use of social media on later academic performance during lower-secondary school years (grades 6 to 8 in Italy, corresponding to ages 11–14 years old) in mathematics and Italian compared with later social media adoption.