DENVER — Children who have smartphones by age 12 are at a higher risk of obesity, depression and sleep deprivation. These are the finding of a new study published in the journal Pediatrics.
The study also found that the earlier a child receives a smartphone, the greater the risk of developing these conditions.
The team that conducted the study were made up of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia University. They looked at data from 10,500 participants between the ages of 9 and 16 from 2016 to 2022.
The study showed that compared to 12 year olds who did not own a smartphone, those who did had a 1.3 times higher risk of depression, 1.4 times higher risk of obesity, and 1.6 times higher risk of insufficient sleep.
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Denver7 anchor Shannon Ogden spoke with Dr. Lisa Badanes, professor and chair of the Department of Psychological Sciences at Metropolitan State University of Denver this week to talk about the research. She calls the conclusions of the study important and unsurprising.
"I get that question all the time. People will ask me all the time, 'when should I get my kid a smartphone?' And I'm a parent, right? So, I have the same questions, and I don't feel comfortable saying it's this age. I do feel comfortable sort of saying what this article says, which is try to wait as long as you can. Somewhere after 12. Twelve to 14 seems to be the comfortable number we're at, but the longer you wait, the better. That's because of the unregulated nature of smartphones and social media," said Dr. Badanes.
Additionally, the earlier the age a child received a smartphone, the greater the risk of developing the problems increased — by about 10% for each year earlier in age — compared to kids who received a device later or not at all.
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The study also found that 13 year olds who did not have a smartphone at age 12 but acquired one within the last year also had worse mental health outcomes and poor sleep.
The study adds that the point of the research is not to shame anyone. Plenty of children have or had smartphones before the age of 12. So, what about them? Are they destined to have lifelong problems?
"Absolutely not. There are lots of reasons kids had phones before 12. And 12 is not a hard-set, fast rule. It's going to be individual and family dependent. It's what's comfortable for you as a parent, what's right for your kid," Badanes said. "And then [once your kid has acquired a smartphone], keep checking in. Keep seeing, 'is this negatively impacting different areas of their lives? Are they still socializing enough and getting homework done? Getting enough sleep?' Yes? You're probably OK."
Click here to read the full study.
