Horrifying Research Finds What Happens to 12-Year-Olds Who Get Smart Phones

A recent study published in the JAMA Network Open reveals that children who received smartphones before their 12th birthday may face a higher risk of developing eating disorders than those who did not have one at that age. By examining data from a large survey of US children and teenagers, researchers discovered that those with a smartphone at 12 were more likely to exhibit eating disorder symptoms by the age of 14.

Lead researcher Jason Nagata, an adolescent medicine specialist at the University of California San Francisco, explained that smartphones expose young people to appearance-focused content that can foster unhealthy eating behaviors. Parents should be aware that getting a smartphone is not just about the device, but also about the access to different content in the digital world.

The study analyzed a widely cited cognitive development survey of schoolchildren and found that 70% of participants owned a smartphone by age 12. By age 14, 24% of these phone owners reported having at least one eating disorder symptom, compared to only 16% among those who did not own a smartphone at 12. The researchers believe that the primary cause is exposure to social media, as the survey also showed that kids with smartphones at 12 were twice as likely to tie their self-worth to weight and 50% more likely to engage in disordered behaviors like self-induced vomiting.

Delaying children's access to smartphones by just a year or two could significantly improve their mental health, according to the findings.