Children who use social media more often are likely to have lower cognitive function than their peers, a new US study has claimed.

Thousands of children were sorted into different groups according to how much they use social media, and they were then given a series of tests focusing on memory, reading, and vocabulary to determine if social media usage affected their cognitive skills.

“They’ll see it on television, online platforms, and even on social media itself, because until December 10th, it remains legal for children to access social media,” Wells stated.

“And if that’s where they are, that’s where we need to talk to them about what this means and why we’re doing it.”

The prohibition is still facing criticism from some of the largest social media corporations globally. Just yesterday, Google representatives cautioned a Senate committee about the potential adverse effects of the ban.

“Requiring kids to access YouTube without an account removes the parental controls and safety measures that were designed to protect them,” Rachel Lord, the public policy and government affairs manager for Google and YouTube, explained.

“It’s also the ability of parents to set up supervised accounts for their children.”