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It was a slow, but measurable effect over time.
A long-running research project tracking thousands of children suggests that heavy use of social platforms may slowly undermine their ability to concentrate.
The findings, reported by Karolinska Institutet in the journal Pediatrics Open Science, emerge as screen habits among young people continue to climb.
The study followed children from late childhood into early adolescence, a period when digital media becomes a central part of daily life.
Changing media habits
Researchers from Karolinska Institutet and Oregon Health & Science University monitored 8,324 US children, beginning at ages 9–10 and continuing for four years.
Each year, the participants detailed how much time they spent on social media, television and video games, while parents assessed attention levels and signs of hyperactivity.
According to the research team, social platforms were the only category consistently linked to a gradual rise in inattentive behaviour.
Neither gaming nor television viewing showed the same pattern.
Social platforms stand out
Professor Torkel Klingberg of Karolinska Institutet told the university’s news service that the nature of these apps may create constant mental interruptions.
“Social media entails constant distractions in the form of messages and notifications, and the mere thought of whether a message has arrived can act as a mental distraction,” he said.
He added that this mechanism could account for the association observed in the data.
The study highlighted that children using Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter or Messenger for longer periods tended to show a slow but measurable decline in focus over time.
Broader implications
The researchers reported that the link persisted regardless of socioeconomic factors or genetic tendencies associated with ADHD.
They also found no evidence that children with existing attention problems were more likely to increase their social media use, suggesting the direction of influence ran from use to symptoms.
While the effect per child was modest, Klingberg noted that it could matter at a wider scale.
“Greater consumption of social media might explain part of the increase we’re seeing in ADHD diagnoses,” he said, though the study did not detect a rise in hyperactivity or impulsivity.
Looking ahead
Average daily social media use climbed from roughly 30 minutes at age nine to about 2.5 hours by age thirteen, despite common platform age limits of 13.
First author Samson Nivins said the results could help guide discussions about digital limits and platform design.
“We hope that our findings will help parents and policymakers make well-informed decisions on healthy digital consumption,” he noted.
The team plans to continue following the cohort beyond age 14.
Sources: Karolinska Institutet
