Culture Post: Joining Social Media Before Age 11 is Associated with Problematic Digital Behaviors

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on EurekAlert!

A new study published in Computers in Human Behavior found that using Instagram or Snapchat before age 11 was significantly related to more problematic digital behaviors compared to those who joined these platforms when they were older. Parental restrictions on phone use and checking social media ameliorated some of the negative effects.

“Social media sites all require a minimum age of 13 to register, but the reality is that many users are younger than that: one-third of our sample had already started using social media at age 11 or 12 and another one-third had begun at age 10 or younger,” said the study’s lead author Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., director of the Youth, Media and Wellbeing Research Lab at the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW). “This study helps us understand the risks and benefits for kids and tweens so that parents and policymakers can make decisions that prioritize their wellbeing.”

Charmaraman and her co-authors surveyed 773 middle schoolers in the Northeast U.S. about their social media initiation, digital behaviors, and parental restrictions on digital use. The researchers found that joining social media platforms like Instagram or Snapchat before age 11 was significantly associated with having online friends or joining social media sites parents would disapprove of, more problematic digital technology behaviors, more unsympathetic online behaviors, and greater likelihood of online harassment and sexual harassment victimization. Some of these effects were lessened when parents restricted phone use and limited how often their kids checked social media.

Source: EurekAlert!
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/932846

Find more culture news on HomeWord’s Culture Blog, named in 2021 for the sixth consecutive year, as one of the top 50 culture blogs on the planet!

Help us reach the next generation of families

Donate
Back to Top

[reposted by] Jim Liebelt

Jim is Senior Writer, Editor and Researcher for HomeWord. Jim has 40 years of experience as a youth and family ministry specialist, having served over the years as a pastor, author, consultant, mentor, trainer, college instructor, and speaker. Jim’s HomeWord culture blog also appears on Crosswalk.com and Religiontoday.com. Jim and his wife Jenny live in Quincy, MA.

  • About HomeWord

    HomeWord helps families succeed by creating Biblical resources that build strong marriages, confident parents, empowered kids and healthy leaders. Founded by Jim Burns, HomeWord seeks to advance the work of God in the world by educating, equipping, and encouraging parents and churches. Learn More »

  • Support Our Mission

    HomeWord is non-profit, donor supported ministry. If you would like to partner with HomeWord in our effort to help more parents and families you can make a donation. Your investment will allow us to expand this ministry by offering more resources to families and churches in need.

  • Contact Information

    • HomeWord
      PO Box 1600
      San Juan Capistrano, CA
      92693

    • Send us an email

    • 800-397-9725
      (M-F: 8:30am-5pm PST)

Close