Digital technologies open new possibilities for education and play, enabling young people to find information faster and offering new opportunities to foster creativity and connection. Young people interact in a range of digital environments – from browsing the Internet and playing video games to connecting with their peers on social media platforms. Social media plays a central role in how young people communicate online. For those born in the early to mid-2000s, communicating via social media platforms is an integral part of their daily lives.
While social media has become central to how young people communicate and consume information, it also has potential downsides. Parents, educators and policymakers increasingly worry about the effect of social media on academic performance, learning environments, risks to mental health and overall well-being. The appeal of social media for young people and its potential for distraction, unhealthy comparisons and harmful information sharing have led several countries to restrict mobile phones in schools. Other countries have enacted laws to regulate how social media companies can offer their services to young people. In addition, some countries have established laws that set a minimum age for social media accounts.
This paper reviews the literature on the impacts of social media use on young people, focusing primarily on 15-year-olds, and explores trends in their social media use. Drawing on newly derived insights from the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data for 2022, it analyses the associations between social media use and academic outcomes and skills, particularly creative thinking – a key complementary skill to thrive in highly digital environments. Finally, the paper discusses how policy can support young people in making the most of social media’s many opportunities while protecting them against related risks.
Main findings
Social media use is ubiquitous among young people
On average across the OECD, 15-year-olds spend almost 35 hours per week on social media, exceeding time spent on homework and school lessons.
Almost all young people use social media, but they spend more time browsing than communicating and sharing digital content. Around 95% of 15-year-olds report browsing social media daily and 88% report communicating or sharing digital content on these platforms.
Social media use varies across the OECD, ranging from under 26 hours per week in Japan to over 45 hours in Chile.
Digital leisure activities differ by sex and socio-economic background
Browsing social media is the most common digital leisure activity among girls, whereas boys spend more time playing video games. Overall, girls spend an average of 37.2 hours per week on social media compared to 31.8 hours for boys.
Girls are especially at risk from the negative effects of social media use, including poor body image and community-based online isolation and exclusion.
Girls and boys in the lowest socio-economic background quartile report spending on average eight and five hours more, respectively, per week on social media compared to their peers from the highest socio-economic background quartile.
Research on social media use and well-being outcomes is complex and nuanced
Social media complements rather than substitutes in-person interaction for many young people. Students who spend more time with friends after school also tend to spend more time on social media. Those who see friends daily after school spend close to 40 hours per week on social media, compared to around 30 hours for those who rarely meet friends after school.
At the same time, social media can reinforce feelings of loneliness and lead to even greater isolation at school. Those 15-year-olds who feel lonely at school use more social media than those who feel well integrated.
Students who use social media moderately have higher test scores, while excessive use is associated with falling academic performance
Mathematics performance is highest among students who use social media moderately, with both non-users and heavy users performing worse. Performance declines steadily as time spent increases beyond three hours per day.
Creative thinking scores also peak at moderate levels of browsing social media (one to three hours per day). However, any more than one hour spent using social media to communicate or share digital content on either the weekend or the weekday results in a decline in measured creative thinking scores.
Declines in performance associated with social media use are more pronounced among advantaged students than disadvantaged students. Weekly social media use of 35 hours is associated with an estimated decline of around 37 points in mathematics performance for advantaged students and 19 points for disadvantaged students.
Restrictions on digital devices in schools and delaying access to social media has gained popularity, but implementation is a challenge
More jurisdictions are attempting to restrict digital devices in schools. Digital devices, particularly mobile phones, are the primary way in which young people access social media platforms. Restricting device usage in school, or delaying access to social media for children, has widespread support among adults but less so among young people.
Enforcement poses practical challenges, however, with many students continuing to use their devices during school hours despite restrictions. On average across the OECD, 29% of 15-year-old students in schools that ban mobile phone use reported using their phone at school several times a day. An additional 21% reported using a mobile phone every day or almost every day.