ArticleAcademic pediatrics
Prevalence and Patterns of Social Media Use in Early Adolescents.
Article in Academic pediatrics. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers.
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Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed.
- Problematic Social Media Use Profiles and Adolescent Substance Use Across Countries: A Latent Class Analysis With Multilevel Models.Journal of adolescence · 2026Article
- Social media use, smoking expectancies, and nicotine experimentation in early adolescents: A prospective cohort study.The American journal on addictions · 2026Article
- Problematic Social Media Use and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in Adolescents.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Navigating the Algorithm: A Narrative Review of Social Media's Impact on Mental Health in Clinical and Non-Clinical Adolescent Populations.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Algorithmic recommendation and adolescent mental health: a grounded theory study of social and commercial determinants.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Problematic social media use, mental health, and substance use in Czech adolescents: the comparative role of extracurricular activities - findings from the 2022 HBSC study.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026Article
- Associations of critical thinking and social media addiction with eHealth literacy among adolescent social media users.BMC nursing · 2026Article
- Social Media Use Trajectories and Substance Use Experimentation: A Prospective Cohort Study.The American journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- Latent profile analysis of mindfulness and experiential avoidance associated with social media use disorder.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Adverse Childhood Experiences, Positive Childhood Experiences, and Digital Media Use among Children and Adolescents in the United States.Journal of child & adolescent trauma · 2026Article
- Problematic patterns of social media use increase with spontaneous cortical activity and transdiagnostic mental health symptoms in youth.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2026Article
- The Swedish version of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale: A psychometric evaluation among adolescents.Addictive behaviors reports · 2026Article
- Characterizing In Vivo Exposure to Alcohol Content in the Media: Media Platform, Engagement, and Associations With Attitudes.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Article
- Reducing social disparities in child emotional and behavioral problems by hypothetical physical activity and screen time interventions.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- Social media use and early adolescent brain structure: Findings from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study.NeuroImage · 2026Article
- Associations of adolescent social media use trajectories with spatial and verbal memory: a prospective cohort study.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2026Article
- Changes in alcohol expectancy activation patterns precede onset of alcohol use in children.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2026Article
- Connectome-based prediction of problematic use of social media in adolescents: Findings from the ABCD study.NeuroImage · 2026Article
- Prospective Associations Between Early Adolescent Problematic Screen Use, Mental Health, Sleep, and Substance Use.American journal of preventive medicine · 2026Article
- TikTok and Instagram as Putative Social Media in Promoting Healthy Eating Habits in Youths At-Risk for Eating/Feeding Disorders and Body Image Dissatisfaction.Brain sciences · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo describe patterns of social media use, including underage use (under 13 years) and sex differences, in a diverse, national sample of early adolescents in the US.
methodsWe analyzed the social media use data in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (2019-2021, Year 3), which includes a national sample of early adolescents in the US. Specifically, using Chi-square and t-tests, we compared social media use patterns across demographic characteristics stratified by age and sex.
resultsIn the sample of 10,092 11-to-15-year-old adolescents, 69.5% had at least one social media account; among social media users, the most common platforms were TikTok (67.1%), YouTube (64.7%), and Instagram (66.0%). A majority (63.8%) of participants under 13 years (minimum age requirement) reported social media use. Under-13 social media users had an average of 3.38 social media accounts, with 68.2% having TikTok accounts and 39.0% saying TikTok was the social media site they used the most. Females reported higher use of TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Pinterest, while males reported higher use of YouTube and Reddit. Additionally, 6.3% of participants with social media accounts reported having a secret social media account hidden from their parents' knowledge.
conclusionsOur findings reveal a high prevalence of underage social media use in early adolescence. These findings can inform current policies and legislation aimed at more robust age verification measures, minimum age requirements, and the enhancement of parental controls on social media. Clinicians can counsel about the potential risks of early adolescent social media use.
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