If you're thinking about joining social media early, here's something to consider:
a study found that kids who start using social media accounts at 11 or 12 end up doing worse in school than those who wait until at least 14.
Researchers looked at over 5,000 Italian students and saw that early users lagged behind their classmates in math and reading by about six months of learning by age 16.
Dr. Marco Gui: phone checking distracts
Turns out, the constant urge to check your phone is a big reason for the drop in grades.
Dr. Marco Gui, who led the study, called this "continuous state of alert" from social media a real distraction from homework and learning. He described early use as "problematic."
Interestingly, English scores weren't affected, which researchers suspect may be because students were exposed to the language online while learning it as a foreign language.
Findings support social media age limits
These findings back up moves like Australia's ban on social media for minors, and a proposed ban in the UK for under-16s.
Dr. Gui believes age limits help, but also says platforms should be redesigned to make them safer and less addictive for younger users.