Scientists compared the mental abilities of more than 6,500 study participants aged 9-13, who were followed for two years, with the duration of their social media use. The best results were seen in those teenagers who used social media very little.
Scientists compared the mental abilities of more than 6,500 study participants aged 9-13, who were followed for two years, with the duration of their social media use. The best results were seen in those teenagers who used social media very little.
This is reported by the publication nauka.ua with reference to a study in JAMA Network.
Scientists divided teenagers into three groups:
The teenagers in the second group performed worse at reading aloud, memorizing words and images, compared to those who used social media for no more than 20 minutes. The results of the avid social media users in the third group were even worse.
The impact of social media on adolescents' cognitive abilities was greater than the impact of total screen time, which was studied in previous studies on the same sample. According to the researchers, the reason is that social media requires more engagement and consumes more time.
It was previously reported that 17-year-old Danylo Kovalev, who was forced to move from Mykolaiv due to the full-scale Russian invasion, is developing a mobile application called OffGrid with a team of teenagers. It helps to overcome addiction to the quick dopamine that social media offers.
