Kids delight when they get their first smartphone with newfound access to texting, social media, and unlimited apps. Parents justify the purchase with their real-time ability to communicate and perpetual knowledge of their child’s whereabouts. Yet many have buyer’s remorse months later when their kid—head buried in their iPhone—becomes unresponsive to basic human interaction.
Aside from turning kids into zombies, emerging research shows that smartphones place children at risk for real health problems, particularly when introduced too early. Here are five reasons to consider or maybe reconsider if your adolescent should have a smartphone.
1. Smartphone Use Is Linked To Adolescent Depression And Substance Use
Greater smartphone use correlated strongly with worse mental health outcomes in 40,998 Korean middle and high school students. When use exceeded four hours a day, depressive symptoms increased by 22%, alcohol use by 66%, and smoking by 90%. According to data from the Global Mind Project, the longer parents can delay smartphone ownership in children, the better mental health will be when they’re older. Adolescent depression increased from 8.1% in 2009 to 15.8% in 2019, a period concurrent with increases in smartphones in children.
2. Smartphone Use May Explain Escalating Suicides In Young Girls
Starting in 2014, suicides rates in young girls started spiking at alarming rates. By 2021 suicides in girls aged 10-19 were 50% higher than in 2003 and 19% higher among females in their 20s.
Why? One explanation is smartphones—and in particular social media—worsen mental health outcomes by attaching children to a “firehose of social comparison”, according to NYU Professor Jonathan Haidt. While smartphones create digital connections, they also increase bullying and lower self-esteem. This effect can be magnified in younger girls—particularly middle schoolers.
3. Smartphone Use Reduces Sleep Duration
Kids require a lot of sleep: to consolidate memories, better regulate emotions, and for good health in general. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends children six to 12 years old sleep nine to 12 hours nightly while adolescents 13 to 18 sleep eight to 10 hours. Today’s adolescents are over-scheduled with sports, instruments, and other activities. Sleep often pays the price. This is worsened by smartphones whose evening glow tricks the brain into thinking it’s still daytime, disrupting circadian rhythms. This shortens sleep duration, leading to increased sleepiness in school, reducing the ability to pay attention and learn.
4. Smartphone Viewing Is Tied to Nearsightedness In Adolescents
Smartphone use involves a bright screen propped close, often for hours. In 272 Dutch teenagers, continuous smartphone use for >20 minutes was associated with increased myopia or nearsightedness. Early onset nearsightedness is associated with an increased risk of high myopia—or severe nearsightedness—in adulthood.
5. Adolescent Smartphone Use May Lead To ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects approximately 9% of children. A study measured digital media use—including smartphones—where the most common activity was checking social media in 2,587 adolescents without ADHD. Higher digital activity was associated with an 11% higher chance of being diagnosed with ADHD over the next two years. Mindless scrolling on TikTok, YouTube, and other apps are a particular concern.
Here’s the point. Your child will eventually get a smartphone. They’ll probably ask for one in middle school or even earlier, pointing out their friends have one and they’re being left out. Know that the longer you delay, the better your child’s mental and physical health might be. Other options exist like wristwatches that allow for the ability to communicate and text but limit access to social media.
Will they whine? Absolutely. But experts suggest waiting till high school if possible, or at least eight grade and carefully considering issues such as development and maturity in the decision.
