Increasing Social Media Use in Early Teen Years Tied to Cognitive Performance

FRIDAY, Oct. 17, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Increasing use of social media throughout early adolescence is significantly associated with lower performance in specific aspects of cognitive function, according to a research letter published online Oct. 13 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Jason M. Nagata, M.D., from University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues examined the relationship between longitudinal patterns of social media use and cognitive performance two years later among a national sample of early adolescents. The analysis included data from 6,554 participants in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study at baseline (2016-2018, ages 9 to 10 years), year 1 (2017-2019), and year 2 (2018-2020).

The researchers found that compared with no or very low social media use, low increasing social media use was associated with lower performance scores (negative differences in mean) on the Oral Reading Recognition Test (ORRT; −1.39), Picture Sequence Memory Test (PSMT; −2.03), Picture Vocabulary Test (PVT; −2.09), and total composite score (−0.85). Similarly, high increasing social media use was associated with poorer performance on the ORRT (−1.68), PSMT (−4.51), PVT (−3.85), and total composite score (−1.76).

“Social media is highly interactive and can displace time spent on reading or schoolwork,” Nagata said in a statement. “Building healthy screen habits early could help protect learning and cognitive growth.”

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)