A new study suggests that children who start using social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram at around age 11 may fall behind academically by the time they reach their GCSE years. According to the reports, the study finds an association between earlier social media use and slower school progress, with differences described as being “up to six months behind” by GCSE stage. The coverage frames the findings as a potential timing gap in educational achievement rather than a direct explanation of cause and effect. The articles focus on the timing of when young people begin using social media and how that correlates with later academic outcomes, highlighting that students who start earlier may experience measurable delays in learning progress relative to those who begin later. Both outlets describe the same overall result—that earlier social media adoption is linked to weaker academic progress by GCSE—and both attribute the figure of “up to six months behind” to the study’s analysis.