<p>This study investigates the longitudinal trajectories of academic stress and life satisfaction among elementary school students in Korea to fill the gap in existing cross-sectional research that has largely focused on older adolescents. Utilizing three years of panel data from the Panel Study on Korean Children (PSKC), the research applies multivariate latent growth modeling to examine the association between the initial levels and rates of change of the two factors. This study also investigated how gender, media usage time, and social activity time influence both the initial levels and rates of change in academic stress and life satisfaction. The findings reveal that academic stress steadily increases, while life satisfaction declines over time among elementary students. Notably, greater participation in social activities is associated with lower initial academic stress and a slower increase in stress, whereas increased media usage time predicts steeper rises in academic stress and sharper declines in life satisfaction in the long term. Female students exhibit lower life satisfaction and a more pronounced increase in academic stress compared to males. These results underscore the need for early intervention and the promotion of social activities, as well as the importance of digital literacy education to mitigate the negative effects of excessive media use. The study highlights the urgency of addressing academic stress and well-being in early adolescents and calls for comprehensive, context-sensitive policy and educational responses.</p>