Social Media Use Among 9- to 11-Year-Old Children and School Principals’ Leadership Practices

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand social media use among 9- to 11-year-old children and how it affected elementary school principals’ leadership practices. The purposefully selected sample was composed of two elementary school principals and 36 students from two schools. Three methods were used for data collection: student surveys, student focus groups, and principal interviews. Most children in this study reported regularly adding videos and comments on YouTube and TikTok, communicating with real-life and online friends on social media, and gaming, along with sometimes using social media for learning purposes at school. This research revealed that problems associated with young people’s social media use from outside of school time were filtering into the school day. Principals reported using various approaches to promote positive social media usage with their students. Recommendations are provided to cultivate social media learning experiences in schools.