儿童时期的环境和行为已经被证明对以后的生活有重要的持续影响。在过去十年中，儿童的一个方面发生了巨大变化，并引起了政策制定者和其他负责保护儿童的机构的关注，那就是社交媒体或在线社交网络的出现。本研究探讨了儿童数字社交网络对其主观幸福感的影响。我们从英国家庭纵向研究(UK Household Longitudinal Study)中抽取了2010年至2014年间10-15岁的大样本，并估计了在社交网站上聊天时间对一些结果的影响，这些结果反映了这些孩子对生活不同方面的感受，特别是:学校工作;外观;家庭;朋友;学校参加;还有整个生命。我们利用Ofcom发布的宽带速度和手机信号强度信息，通过工具变量方法来处理社交网络的潜在内生性。 Our results suggest that spending more time on social networks reduces the satisfaction that children feel with all aspects of their lives, except for their friendships; and that girls suffer more adverse effects than boys. As well as addressing policy makers' concerns about the effects of digital technology on children, this work also contributes to wider debates about the socioeconomic consequences of the internet and digital technologies more generally, a debate which to date has largely been based on evidence from outside of the UK.