Social media use soars as kids drop sports, reading, music

Kids are dropping sport, reading, music, and the arts as social media use soars, prompting concerns about their development.

New research from the University of South Australia found that social media use among children and teens had risen by more than 200 per cent since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The researchers tracked more than 14,000 South Australian students aged 11 to 14 from 2019 to 2022.

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Over the four-year period, the number of young people who used social media daily jumped from 26 per cent to 85 per cent.

This correlated with an increase of the proportion of children who never read for fun from 11 per cent to 53 per cent.

The amount of young people who never took part in arts activities rose from 26 per cent to 70 per cent.

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The proportion of students who never did extra-curricular music activities rose from 70 per cent to 85 per cent.

And non-users of social media went from 31 per cent of the cohort to just 3 per cent.

Boys experienced a steeper drop in reading, while girls consistently used social media more often.

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The researchers said these figures had not reversed in the years since the pandemic restrictions were lifted.

Conversely, time spent watching TV, doing chores, and playing electronic games increased during the pandemic but returned to pre-pandemic levels by 2022.

"There's no doubt that social media has become deeply embedded in children's daily lives. But now it's at the point where it's replacing many of the activities that support healthy development – like sport, reading, and creative play," UniSA researcher and PhD candidate Mason Zhou said.

"Because these changes happened during a critical stage of adolescence, and because they've persisted three years after COVID restrictions ended, they may have lasting impacts on young people's health and wellbeing – and that's a real cause for concern."

With the looming implementation of Australia's social media ban for children under 16, the researchers said this study could show where extra support would be needed for younger teens and children.

Co-researcher Professor Dot Dumuid said more programs and policies that encouraged young people to re-engage in enriching activities such as sport, music, arts, and reading were needed.

"If we want to support young people's wellbeing, we need to help them rebalance their time – encouraging them to reconnect with real-world activities that build skills, confidence and social connection," Dumuid said.

"Children who participate in sports, arts and other extra-curricular activities generally have better academic outcomes, stronger self-identity, improved social skills and better mental health."

Dumuid said the dominance of social media posed developmental risks to adolescents.

"The pending social media bans are certainly an intervention aimed at protecting children," she said.

"When access is restricted, children may shift to alternative platforms like gaming, messaging apps or TV. Tracking these behavioural shifts and examining their short- and long-term impacts on young people's health and wellbeing will be important as we move beyond the ban."

The full paper can be found here.

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