A NEW survey, analysed by Public Health Wales, shows that 53.3 per cent of girls aged 10 and 11 report using social media websites and apps regularly, along with 49.7 per cent of boys the same age. Three quarters of children this age own smartphones.

The data, which comes from The Schools Health Research Network’s Student Health and Well-being Survey in Primary Schools carried out by Cardiff University, shows that there is a steady increase in the regular use of social media sites through primary school, with 20.4 per cent of boys and 18.6 per cent of girls using them in year three, rising each year as children progress through primary school.

Over 50,000 children from more than 500 primary schools in all areas of Wales completed the survey, making it the largest survey of the health and well-being of primary-aged children in Wales. The aim is to support schools by providing robust, national-level data on children’s health and well-being, so that teachers and policymakers can ensure that they are providing the best support to pupils and responding to emerging influences on learner health and well-being.

The survey asked children if they have accessed social media sites such as Instagram, Tiktok, Snapchat or Facebook, and if they did how often they tended to access them each week. Most major social media platforms set a minimum age of 13 for users.

Lorna Bennett, Consultant in Public Health (Educational Settings) for Public Health Wales, said regular exposure to social media websites and apps can negatively affect well-being and body image.

“Being on social media sites carries the risk of exposure to harmful content and inappropriate contact with adults, and young children are less able to discern what is appropriate contact or assess potential risks,” she said.

Exposure to addictive features, such as infinite scrolling, that can extend the time children are on apps, taking them away from other activities, such as physical activity or other hobbies and interests. There are also growing concerns that addictive features may influence brain development and behaviours such as impulse control and attention spans.

“In addition, it carries the risk of being exposed to inappropriate advertising and content not designed for their age group. Everything that they share, post or engage with online will be available forever, and can be used to create digital profiles that will stay with them for life, potentially causing issues in the future.

“Given the level of smartphone ownership among children and young people in Wales, the announcement of an upcoming ban on under 16s accessing high risk social media platforms, and restrictions on older teens accessing platforms late at night, are important steps in ensuring children and young people continue to benefit from technology whilst being kept safe online.

“We would advise parents and carers to carefully monitor and restrict social media use among young children according to platform restrictions, and to ensure that children experience a range of different activities outside of school time.”