Kids Who Get Phones Before Age 12 Are More Likely To Develop 3 Health Issues As Teenagers, Finds Study
SeventyFour | Shutterstock The age a kid should reach before getting their first phone has been debated for years now. Kids ask for them younger than ever, and a lot of parents are giving in, despite expert advice suggesting they wait.
As a result, experts have become very concerned about a few health risks associated with childhood phone use. A study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics examined the potential risks for kids who got their first phone before they turned 12 and found three concerning problems those kids were likely to face as teenagers.
Study says kids who get phones early are more likely to develop these serious health issues:
1. Depression
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Excessive smartphone use doesn't have a reputation for being great for mental health at any age, so it’s not surprising that younger kids are even more susceptible to developing depression. Too often, parents don't realize how phone use has changed over the years. While they were once mainly used for making calls and sending texts, scrolling through social media and watching short-form videos are how young people spend their time on phones now.
Social media can be a good thing when it connects people who wouldn’t be able to keep in touch otherwise, but it can also lower users’ confidence when they get caught up in comparison. The way phones seem to always be lighting up with notifications also contributes to an unhealthy feeling of stress, especially when someone is engaging with negative content online. This can be overwhelming for anyone, but is especially problematic for young people, especially when their parents don't realize how much stress their kids are experiencing.
2. Obesity
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A separate study from 2023 found that kids who used their phones for at least two hours a day usually had worse health in general, including higher rates of obesity. Before phones were so prevalent, research found similar results for kids who spent a lot of time watching TV.
Using a phone and watching TV might feel very different, but any mindless screen time gets in the way of kids going outside and being active. In addition, zoning out in front of a screen can also detach kids from what they're eating. They're not paying attention to their hunger signals or satiety, and may keep eating well past the point of being full.
Children aren’t equipped to put appropriate boundaries around their screen time, especially when a lot of adults struggle with the same thing. They’ll choose their phones over moving their bodies because it requires little motivation and offers a high dopamine reward. Sadly, that reward disappears quickly, and kids just want more and more screen time to try to feel good again.
3. Lack of adequete sleep for growth and learning
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Phones affect kids’ sleep quality in a few different ways, starting with how light from the screen makes it hard for the body to produce appropriate melatonin at the right times. Other things that might feel unrelated can also contribute, like a child getting less exercise because of their phone, which makes it harder for them to sleep.
Depending on their age, kids usually need 9 to 11 hours of sleep. Anything less will make it hard for them to do well at school and regulate their mood and behavior. Worse, cutting into sleep time this young sets them up for long-term unhealthy habits regarding sleep, which are already abysmal, with over half of U.S. teens using their phones past midnight, even on school nights.
While this may seem like a low-consequences issue, parents report giving their kids a smartphone between the ages of 12 and 14, with some admitting to even younger ages. That means a lot of kids are at risk for developing these health problems as teenagers, no to mention all the related bad habits.
There are alternatives for parents who wish to keep connected to their kids without offering a smartphone. There are phones, like the Bark phone, that offer parents the option of limiting kids to phone and text features until they're older. Parents can also buy a "dumb phone" as they're often called, like a flip phone, or even a watch that only calls four or five pre-selected numbers.
Parents should be able to decide when their own child is ready for a phone, but they also shouldn’t rush to give them one just because they’ve asked for it. There’s nothing wrong with letting kids be kids. In fact, it's a gift they'll likely thank you for later.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
