Children using social media at younger age appear to do worse in school tests

Pupils who open accounts aged 11 to 12 score lower in some subjects than those who wait a few years, study finds

Children who open social media accounts at the start of secondary school appear to perform worse in tests than those who delay, with researchers suspecting that the constant checking for updates is a major distraction for many students.

Pupils who opened their first social media account aged 11 to 12 scored lower in mathematics and reading tests than those who waited a few years, with scores at age 16 differing between the groups by the equivalent of about six months of learning, the study found.