Children and Young People: Social Media

There is a lack of conclusive evidence on the impact of social media use on educational outcomes for children and young people. The department has partnered with London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership and Imperial College London to sponsor a Collaborative PhD studentship which aims to create new evidence on how smartphone and social media use may influence secondary school exam results and school absence. This study focuses on a specific aspect of educational performance, and there is wider evidence which explores additional impacts on children’s health and wellbeing outcomes. The department has also commissioned a systematic review of evidence that enables causal inference to better understand how screentime, including social media, impacts children and young people, including looking at impacts on educational outcomes. We will continue to monitor any other emerging evidence.