Smartphones may be useful for children – if they avoid social media

A survey of more than 1500 children indicates that smartphones can be beneficial to their mental and social well-being-unless they start using social media.

Justin Martin At the University of South Florida, children between the ages of 11 and 13 have surveyed in the state to open a A 25 -year study at the national level To explore the relationship between digital media and luxury.

The researchers found that 78 percent of children surveyed by the survey of 1510 owned a smartphone, and the 21 percent of the symptoms of depression and anxiety, compared to 26 percent of those who do not have a device. Children with phones were more likely to report more time personally with friends.

“We thought that the ownership of smartphones would be linked to negative results or negative measures,” Martin says. “But this was not.”

The researchers found that children with parents who had less income were more likely to have a smartphone than those who have more richer fathers. The highest spread of smartphone ownership is found by 87 percent, in children who live in families get between $ 50,000 and $ 90,000, while only 67 percent of children in families get $ 150,000 or more of a smartphone.

Martin suggests that this could have been a response to the richest parents to be more aware of the negative addresses about the supposed danger of social media that affect mental health, with the unlike school policies attended by their children: 58 percent of private schools had a complete ban on phones, compared to 43 percent of public schools.

Martin says that such a ban – Florida was the first American state to advance, in 2023 – may be on fragile scientific land. “We were keen to highlight associations instead of causation, but children with smartphones may use them for social purposes, in the same way that many adults do,” he says.

However, not all smartphones are not tight. The researchers also found that children who said that they were often published on social media were likely to report sleep problems and symptoms of depression or anxiety, compared to those who do not use these platforms. However, the poll was not able to determine whether the increasing use of social media led to mental health issues and sleep, or whether the opposite was true, says Martin.

“We recommend that parents and adults think of an attempt to keep their children from social platforms as they will spread repeatedly – or try to prevent them from publishing on social platforms,” ​​Martin says. “But of course, it is difficult to tell a child:” You can use Instagram, you can use Tiktok, but do not publish. “

The children who were included in the survey were divided equally on the advantages of social media, as 34 percent agreed that social media caused greater harm than benefit, 33 percent do not agree, and the rest were not accepted in this case.

“This is a wonderful study that makes the important differences, especially between smartphones and social media,” he says. Jess Madox At Alabama University. “While the two became synonymous with each other, this research shows that they are not, in fact, the same.”

“These are really accurate results, I hope to encourage parents, teachers and politicians to think about more education for children on smartphones and social media, not the ban,” she says.

David Ellis At Bath University, the United Kingdom, the work says the work confirms similar results from previous research, but more work understands what the data tells that we are required before we can determine what to do about the use of a smartphone for children: “The lack of analysis makes the conclusions stronger to support policy change to justify it.”