Study Reveals Just How Much Social Media Is Changing Childhood

Social media is altering childhood in extreme ways, suggests a major new study out of Australia. In a press release that calls it "one of the world's largest studies of after-school activities," researchers at the University of South Australia collected data on how more than 14,000 students ages 11 to 14 spent their after-school time from 2019 to 2022. The results, published in JAMA Network Open, aren't subtle:

• Daily social media use rose from 26% to 85% in that span. While 31% of kids were non-social-media users in 2019, the figure was only 3% by the end of the four-year period.
• The percentage of children who never read for fun jumped from 1 in 10 to 1 in 2.
• Those who took part in no arts-related activities jumped from 26% to 70%.
• Those who didn't participate in extracurricular music rose from 70% to 85%.

The researchers noted that other activities that saw spikes during the pandemic—like watching TV and playing video games—by 2022 were back at pre-pandemic levels. "There's no doubt that social media has become deeply embedded in children's daily lives. But now it's at the point where it's replacing many of the activities that support healthy development—like sport, reading, and creative play," says study author Mason Zhou. The study comes as Australia prepares to restrict social media access for kids under 16.