Children who get smartphones by the age of 12 may face a higher risk of poor sleep, obesity, and depression, according to new research published on Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
The study also suggests that the younger a child is when they receive a smartphone, the greater their chances of developing these health problems later on.
Speaking with ABC News, Dr. Ran Barzilay, the study’s lead author and a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said many specialists believe parents should delay giving children their first smartphone for as long as possible.
Barzilay explained that the research was designed to explore whether early smartphone ownership could be linked to negative health outcomes. He added that the topic is personal for him as well.“I have a nine-year-old who wants a phone,” he said. “This is a question almost every parent faces as their child approaches adolescence, or even before.”
The research team, made up of experts from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia University, analyzed data from more than 10,500 participants involved in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. This long-term project tracks brain and behavioral development in children as they grow into adolescence.
Data collected between 2016 and 2022 focused on children aged 9 to 16, examining smartphone ownership, the age at first use, and related health outcomes.
The findings showed that 12-year-olds who owned smartphones were 1.3 times more likely to experience depression, 1.4 times more likely to be obese, and 1.6 times more likely to suffer from insufficient sleep compared to peers without smartphones.
Researchers also discovered that each year earlier a child received a smartphone increased these risks by about 10%, starting from as young as age four.
Even children who only acquired a smartphone at age 13 showed poorer mental health and sleep patterns compared to those who remained phone-free.
While the study shows association rather than direct cause, Barzilay said the results add to growing evidence linking early smartphone use to health concerns in children.
The researchers recommend open discussions among parents, children, and pediatricians to decide when a child is truly ready for a smartphone.
Barzilay stressed the study is not meant to blame parents, noting that his older children had phones before age 12. He acknowledged that smartphones offer benefits but advised setting boundaries, such as banning phones from bedrooms at night and encouraging offline activities.
As for his youngest child, Barzilay said the decision is firm: no phone for now.
