LETTER: By 6th grade, students are plugged into phones, social media

September 9, 2025 | By Yoshwin Antony and Callum Jones

Last spring, a survey we conducted of Crossett Brook Middle School students in fifth, sixth, and seventh grades showed that phone use and social media are becoming more common—and quickly. The data was collected from 75 students—28 in fifth grade, 25 in sixth, and 22 in seventh grade—approximately one-third of each grade. It shows a major increase in both phone ownership and social media use as students get older.

These pie charts showing the percentage of students surveyed with and without phones indicate that phone ownership increases sharply with grade level—only 20% of fifth graders have phones compared to 62% of sixth graders and 77% of seventh graders.

In fifth grade, most students don't have phones. Only about 18% do, and just 11% of those students use social media. But things start to change in sixth grade. Phone ownership jumps to 64%, and more than half of the students—52%—are already on social media.

By the time students reach seventh grade, the numbers are even more shocking. Every single student surveyed in seventh grade owns a phone, and 77% are active on social media. That means social media isn't just common—it’s the norm.

These pie charts show that, as students get older, social media use increases. Only 15.4% of fifth graders surveyed use social media; that jumps to 80% in sixth grade. It surprisingly dropped by 2.7% among seventh graders to 77.3%.

One of the biggest takeaways from this data survey is how fast things change between elementary and middle school. In just two years, the percentage of students with phones goes from less than 1 in 5 to every student. And social media use goes from rare to expected.

This shows how important it is to start conversations about social media and digital safety earlier. Waiting until middle school might already be too late—by then, most students are already plugged in.

Yoshwin Antony and Callum Jones

Waterbury

Yoshwin Antony and Callum Jones are now 9th-grade students at Harwood Union High School.