Social media has been making its way through many aspects of our daily lives.
Adults are using their phones to check news, post pictures and listen to music. Children are catching up that this is a new way of life and now we are seeing learning difficulties in the classroom.
In an article published by National Public Radio, Rhitu Chatterjee describes how the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study has been following preteens since their adolescence as their brains develop. Dr. Jason Nagata, lead researcher and his colleagues classified 6,000 children from this study into three categories from high social media usage to low.
Nagata found that the children who used a low amount of social media ranked one to two points lower on the oral reading recognition and picture vocabulary test than those who used no social media.
The children that were grouped as using social media all the time showed results of four to five points lower than non social media users. This study exemplifies that the children who have used social media from adolescence to preteen had lower test scores than those who had no social media use.
Psychologist Sheri Magan at the University of Calgary said that “it’s problematic at really high uses, but it’s also problematic at even in small doses,” according to National Public Radio. Though these scores seem minuscule, these results will continue to create larger gaps between these two groups.
According to the American Psychological Association from June 9, 2025 the APA reviewed 117 studies that analyzed more than 292,000 children worldwide finding that the more children engaged with screens, the more likely the children were to develop psychological problems like depression or anxiety.
“I don’t think kids should be on social media until high school, until they find themselves,” said Melnin Retutar, an 18-year-old Delta student. Retutar said kids can be wrapped in the attention and self esteem of being online as well as weak Artificial Intelligence (AI) restrictions and potential grooming.
“I never posted and had restrictions but was still able to find things I wasn’t supposed to,” said Retutar.
When asked about how she feels about technology utilization in schools Retutar, said “technology should not replace basic writing and there can be an overwhelming amount of options like for my brother who is autistic and should be slowly approached.”
Professor Kirstyn Russell, who teaches photography at Delta College, restricts her own 14-year-old daughter from social media, fearing self esteem issues may surface.
Russell does allow access to Pinterest and Lockit stating this is because “those apps are locked down and you cannot be contacted.”
Russell also comments on technology utilization in schools, stating “some technology, like spell check, helps my daughter, who deals with dyslexia.”
Professor Nena Bush, who holds a masters degree in child development and has been teaching child development at Delta College since 2016.
“Young children are tactile, hands-on and concrete learners,” said Bush. “Children are going to get way more benefits playing with things, touching things, playing outside, building things and still having adult engagement and facilitation.”
Studies like these have opened up conversations to limit the use of social media. According to CalMatters Digital Democracy the “Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act,” was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September 2024 which protects minors from addictive features on online platforms, including social media that keep them scrolling.
This act is supposed to go into effect January 2027 by limiting access to addictive apps during certain hours.
