Wales survey: one in two ten and eleven year olds on social media each week
Half of ten and eleven year olds in Wales are using social media regularly, according to the largest survey of primary school children’s health and wellbeing ever carried out in the country.
The data, published by Public Health Wales and drawn from the Schools Health Research Network survey conducted by Cardiff University, found that 53.3 per cent of year six girls and 49.7 per cent of year six boys reported using social media sites and apps on a regular basis.
Most major platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook, set a minimum age of 13 for users.
The survey also found that smartphone ownership among primary school children rises steadily as children get older.
Around 39 per cent of year three children, aged seven to eight, own a smartphone.
By year six, that rises to 75 per cent of boys and 77.2 per cent of girls.
Social media use follows a similar pattern, with 20.4 per cent of year three boys and 18.6 per cent of year three girls reporting regular use, rising each year through primary school.
More than 50,000 children from over 500 primary schools across all areas of Wales completed the survey during school hours in 2024.
Lorna Bennett, Consultant in Public Health (Educational Settings) for Public Health Wales, said:
“The level of social media use at such a young age indicated by the SHRN survey is a potential concern as there’s evidence that social media use can be associated with negative impacts on mental health for some children.”
Bennett said frequent use of social media can heighten social pressures and affect body image, and that young children are less able to assess risks from inappropriate contact with adults online.
She also pointed to concerns about addictive features such as infinite scrolling, saying these can take children away from physical activity and other interests, and that there are “growing concerns that addictive features may influence brain development and behaviours such as impulse control and attention spans.”
Bennett said parents and carers should “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.”
Dr Kelly Morgan, Director of the Schools Health Research Network and based at DECIPHer in Cardiff University, said the findings “highlight an issue that needs ongoing monitoring in a rapidly changing digital environment.”
“This robust, national-level data helps schools better understand the experiences of their learners,” she said.
The Welsh Government has announced an upcoming ban on under-16s accessing what it describes as high-risk social media platforms, along with restrictions on older teenagers accessing platforms late at night.
The SHRN primary school data dashboard is the first of its kind to be published for primary-aged children in Wales.
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