Last year, the US Surgeon General wanted to put warning labels, like the ones on alcohol and cigarettes, on social media, specifically cautioning children and teens. Australia announced it would ban social media<\/a> for users under 16 this week. Jonathan Haidt\u2019s The Anxious Generation<\/a> is a great place to start for parents and educators.\u00a0<\/p>\n As I wrote,<\/a> even kids wish they didn\u2019t have social media: \u201cIt seems that around half of teens would prefer a world without social media<\/a> but feel trapped because they would be socially outcast without it.\u201d<\/p>\n What about even younger than teens? By the age of eleven, over half (53%)<\/a> of kids have a smartphone. Twelve is the average time when kids receive a phone, but some have reported getting one as early as 4 years old.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s a high bar to establish definitive causality between social media and mental health issues, but study after study tends toward this direction.<\/p>\n Some studies focus on the effects of smartphones in classrooms. Even college students <\/a>did better when their phones were physically removed during class: \u201cResults indicated that students whose smartphones were physically removed during class had higher levels of course comprehension, lower levels of anxiety, and higher levels of mindfulness than the control group.\u201d If this is the effect for college-age kids, how much greater is the impact for younger kids?\u00a0<\/p>\n Younger than twelve: Depression, obesity, and bad sleep<\/strong><\/p>\n A new study<\/a> shows a connection between smartphone ownership in kids under twelve and health risks. With data from more than 10,000 children, the study\u2019s findings were robust, though not surprising.\u00a0<\/p>\n They conclude, \u201cSmartphone ownership was associated with depression, obesity, and insufficient sleep in early adolescence. Findings provide critical and timely insights that should inform caregivers regarding adolescent smartphone use and, ideally, the development of public policy that protects youth.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Barzilay, lead author on the study, talked to the NY Times<\/a>: \u201cThe takeaway, [Dr. Barzilay] said, is that age matters. \u2018A kid at age 12 is very, very different than a kid at age 16,\u2019 he said. \u2018It\u2019s not like an adult at age 42 versus 46.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The years from 10 to 25 are crucial for psychological development, particularly in establishing a sense of self, developing social skills, and achieving independence. This study isn\u2019t saying that twelve is a good time to get a smartphone, but rather pointing to how the risks associated with that decision only increase the younger a child is.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another expert, Dr. Jacqueline Nesi, cautioned, it is difficult to prove that phones are causing these risks. However, she says this study should \u201cnudge\u201d parents to wait for longer than they would\u2019ve first thought, and to make sure the deciding factor isn\u2019t just what everyone else is doing.\u00a0<\/p>\n As the article goes on to decsribe, parents should \u201cfeel empowered to trust their gut . . . and to hold off on giving their child a smartphone until everyone is ready\u2014including parents, who have to do the very hard work of putting protections and limits in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
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