It would be nice to see this data with the average time kids spend with their parents at home. I'm thinking that if parents work/travel a lot etc... and they are not often home when their kids are, kids need a phone earlier on so that parents can check on them, and they also have worse coping skills/mental health because they cannot talk much with their parents about their problems
Yes, this makes me think about the value of triangulating with more qualitative data to dive into the "why" behind the survey responses. What else was going on in the lives of these kids who got smartphones earlier? Who decided they should have a smartphone and why? So many questions!
I do think he missed the nuance here which was disappointing. As someone already mentioned, there are many valid reasons families might choose to give kids smartphone earlier than high school.
I do follow Adam Grant on social media and generally like his contributions. I have recommended a few of his best podcast episodes many times over so wanted to do that here also:
I saw this story and was hoping you’d give us your view on it—thank you!
It certainty is food for thought and somewhat furthers the case that I already had to keep a smartphone (or whatever exists when they’re grown up) from my daughters for as long as I can. But also important to consider the points you allude to—it’s not simply the act of handing them the smartphone that causes mental health issues. As parents today, we have a better understanding of social media and this type of tech than our parents would have done, and with that a responsibility to help our kids understand the digital world they’re about to enter, rather than going in blind like the previous generation has.
Of course, all this could be helped further if social media firms took their users’ wellbeing more seriously, but we can’t afford to wait on pigs flying.
"We really want a study to just tell us, once and for all, what we should do." - Actually we don't. Last thing parents want is some study saying "If your 9 year old child wants a sex change, do it" - Use your own common sense to make decisions. Studies should only be laying out facts and not trying to interpret the data to steer society in the direction THEY think it should go.
Thank you for the review of this study! Age 18-24 is also a big age range considering how much technology evolved in those 6 years. I wish we could see this broken down into two age groups. For example, maybe 18-22 year olds at the time received smartphones earlier and also have naturally poorer mental health as they enter the uncertainty of adulthood, whereas smartphones weren't given to the 23/24 year olds until they were older AND they also have better mental health/are more established adults. I'd love to see research that considers: how are these young adults doing in other aspects of life like career or continuing education? What are the benefits of early smartphone ownership? My hope is we'll see more nuanced guidance for parents (and all decision makers) in the future... though as technology evolves quickly it will be hard to keep up!
It would be nice to see this data with the average time kids spend with their parents at home. I'm thinking that if parents work/travel a lot etc... and they are not often home when their kids are, kids need a phone earlier on so that parents can check on them, and they also have worse coping skills/mental health because they cannot talk much with their parents about their problems
Yes, good point!
Yes, this makes me think about the value of triangulating with more qualitative data to dive into the "why" behind the survey responses. What else was going on in the lives of these kids who got smartphones earlier? Who decided they should have a smartphone and why? So many questions!
The tablets-- that’s the spin I’ve been looking for too. No one is rallying against Kindle Fires in bright soft cases yet.
Re: Adam Grant
I do think he missed the nuance here which was disappointing. As someone already mentioned, there are many valid reasons families might choose to give kids smartphone earlier than high school.
I do follow Adam Grant on social media and generally like his contributions. I have recommended a few of his best podcast episodes many times over so wanted to do that here also:
- Parenting with Dr. Becky Kennedy
- Healthy Relationships with the Gottmans
- Government with Sharon McMahon
- Video Games with Ash Brandin
I saw this story and was hoping you’d give us your view on it—thank you!
It certainty is food for thought and somewhat furthers the case that I already had to keep a smartphone (or whatever exists when they’re grown up) from my daughters for as long as I can. But also important to consider the points you allude to—it’s not simply the act of handing them the smartphone that causes mental health issues. As parents today, we have a better understanding of social media and this type of tech than our parents would have done, and with that a responsibility to help our kids understand the digital world they’re about to enter, rather than going in blind like the previous generation has.
Of course, all this could be helped further if social media firms took their users’ wellbeing more seriously, but we can’t afford to wait on pigs flying.
"We really want a study to just tell us, once and for all, what we should do." - Actually we don't. Last thing parents want is some study saying "If your 9 year old child wants a sex change, do it" - Use your own common sense to make decisions. Studies should only be laying out facts and not trying to interpret the data to steer society in the direction THEY think it should go.
Thank you for the review of this study! Age 18-24 is also a big age range considering how much technology evolved in those 6 years. I wish we could see this broken down into two age groups. For example, maybe 18-22 year olds at the time received smartphones earlier and also have naturally poorer mental health as they enter the uncertainty of adulthood, whereas smartphones weren't given to the 23/24 year olds until they were older AND they also have better mental health/are more established adults. I'd love to see research that considers: how are these young adults doing in other aspects of life like career or continuing education? What are the benefits of early smartphone ownership? My hope is we'll see more nuanced guidance for parents (and all decision makers) in the future... though as technology evolves quickly it will be hard to keep up!