Title page 1

Contents 3

Summary 4

Acknowledgements 7

1. Background 8

1.1. Children's social media use 8

1.2. Social media trends and debate 9

1.3. The UK policy context 11

1.4. Select committee scrutiny 13

1.5. International policy context 15

2. Social media and its impacts 16

2.1. Evidence about the possible impacts of social media on children and young people 16

2.2. Mental health 18

2.3. Physical health 22

2.4. Harassment, grooming and abuse 24

2.5. Financial literacy and financial risk 26

2.6. Behaviours and social interactions 27

2.7. Knowledge, learning and development 28

3. Inequalities in online experiences 31

3.1. Reflecting and amplifying existing inequalities 31

3.2. Protective factors 32

4. Policy considerations 35

References 37

Contributors 55

Table 1. UK policy context since 2023 12

Table 2. Select committee scrutiny 14

Table 3. International social media policy context 15

Table 4. Protective factors 33