Children who own a smartphone before age 13 are more likely to experience mental health problems as young adults, with the risk increasing the younger they are when they receive their first phone, a study released on Monday has found.
Researchers said their study’s findings underscored the need for policies to create safer digital spaces and restrict smartphones for children under 13, offering alternatives like "kids' phones" without social media or artificial intelligence-driven content.
The study, analysing mental health data from 1,30,000 people aged 18-24 in multiple countries, including 14,000 in India, found that those who got their first smartphones at age 12 or younger were more likely to report aggression, detachment from reality, hallucinations, or suicidal thoughts.
This general pattern "is consistent across every region, culture and language" and highlights a critical development window during which smartphone ownership appears to have the greatest impact, the researchers said in their study published in the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities.
"Our findings make a compelling case for restricting smartphone access for young children," said Tara Thiagarajan, the chief scientist at Sapien Labs, a non-government entity that conducted the study and has been engaged in research on how life experiences shape mental health.
"The risks to their long-term mental health are too serious to ignore," Thiagarajan told The Telegraph.
The study found that mental health declines with earlier smartphone ownership. Scores on the Mental Health Quotient — a self-assessment based on 47 indicators of emotional, social and cognitive function — dropped from 30 for those who got phones at 13 to 1 for those who got phones at 5.
The proportion of participants classified as emotionally distressed or struggling rose by 9.5 per cent in young women and 7 per cent in young men who got smartphones at age five compared to those who got them at age 13.
Suicidal thoughts showed the steepest rise: 48 per cent of women aged 18-24 who acquired a smartphone at age five or six reported suicidal thoughts, compared to 28 per cent who got a phone at 13.
A Unesco report released in January cited a global survey showing that 79 countries — 40 per cent of education systems worldwide — had banned smartphone use in schools by the end of 2024. France, Italy and the Netherlands are among them.
India's Central Board of Secondary Education recommended in 2009 that students should not carry phones to school and restricted phone use by staff. But the age at which children in India begin using smartphones at home depends entirely on parents.
Australia in December 2024 passed legislation to prevent Australians under 16 years from having accounts on social media platforms, giving platforms 12 months to roll out systems to enforce the age restrictions.
While current evidence does not prove a direct cause-effect link between early smartphone use and later mental health issues, the researchers argue that the potential for harm warrants precautionary responses.
"We can't yet speak about neural mechanisms, but it appears partly driven by young people experiencing more cyberbullying, sleep disturbances, and poorer family relationships when exposed to social media early," Thiagarajan said.