2025/07/17 by Abel, Susan, O'Sullivan, Jade
Psychology · #Child Psychology #Developmental Psychology #Education #Educational Psychology #FOS: Psychology #Psychology #School Psychology #Social Psychology #Social and Behavioral Sciences
paper · doi:10.17605/osf.io/6t8fg
This research project is a mixed methods systematic review (MMSR) that aims to synthesise the existing research on the psychological outcomes associated with the use of social media in children under 13 years of age. Despite a growing trend of social media usage in this age group and growing concern as to the impacts of this use, much of the existing literature either focuses on adolescents or groups younger children with older cohorts, limiting the ability to gain age-specific insights. This review aims to address a critical gap in the literature by focusing exclusively on children under 13, a group with distinct developmental, emotional, and cognitive characteristics. This review will explore both positive and negative psychological outcomes linked to social media use in this population. A mixed methods approach will allow for integration of quantitative and qualitative data, providing a more comprehensive understanding of how social media impacts younger children psychologically. The expected outcome of this project is a high-quality synthesis of evidence that identifies both risks and benefits of social media use for this age group, that outlines the key gaps in the literature and offers insights that may inform future research, policy, education and clinical guidance. This review will form the basis of the researchers Honours thesis in Psychology and will be submitted for assessment in October 2025.