The presence of cellphones can have a negative impact on family relationships and youth mental health, according to two new studies from the University of Georgia.
The studies from the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences suggest that electronic media use, especially among young girls, can increase family conflict as well as widen gaps in emotional sharing between parents and kids.
"We're seeing typical adolescent development in a new, emerging digital area that is tough to deal with. Introducing a smartphone earlier in life is a risk," said Kalsea Koss, co-author of the study and an associate professor in the department of human development and family science. "Parents may want to think about navigating when the best time to do that is. They have to be ready to set boundaries that everybody can get on board with and then enforce those."
Families with youth phone use argued more intensely and frequently
Using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development repository, the researchers analyzed shifting dynamics of over 11,000 families with kids for a decade, starting at age 9.
They found that by age 11, youth who used screens related to more family conflict, such as arguments or subsequent criticism of the child by the parent. This trend continued through their teenage years.
"On average, kids are getting phones and using social media around 10 years old, which is super early, and even that age is going down," said Cory Carvalho, lead author of the study and an alumnus of the University of Georgia. "As kids are becoming differentiated from their parents because of these profound neurological and biological emotional changes, we saw social media cause a variety of disagreements, trouble with resolution, fighting and expressions of anger."
This was especially the case for young girls who spent time on social media, as they began engaging in social relationships and possibly comparing themselves to others online at a younger age.
Video games and viewing video clips (such as on YouTube), however, did not cause strife on their own.
Time spent online can isolate teens during emotional struggles
In that same dataset, the researchers found electronic media use had a negative impact on how adolescents and teens dealt with emotional turbulence.
That study suggested that the earlier a child gets a smartphone, the less aware a parent might be if the child had anxiety or depression, at a key time where those symptoms increase.
"Our findings suggest that when kids get smartphones earlier, they may be less likely to disclose emotional problems to their parents. Smartphone ownership can therefore create gaps in parent and child communication," said Niyantri Ravindran, assistant professor in the department of human development and family science and supervising faculty of the study.
Our findings suggest that when kids get smartphones earlier, they may be less likely to disclose emotional problems to their parents."
- Niyantri Ravindran, College of Family and Consumer Sciences
The younger children were when they owned their first smartphone, the more they internalized their problems over time.
"Family members are still important, but kids are finding more and more support and comfort outside of them with social media," Carvalho said. "We know that there's a robust association between adolescent internalizing symptoms of depression and anxiety and mental health in adulthood. It's really important to detect these things early on so that parents can intervene and mitigate against it."
Although it may be unrealistic to avoid purchasing one altogether, the researchers advise delaying smartphone ownership until children are older, or placing time limits on screentime as well as prioritizing face to face interactions in the family.
These studies were published in the Journal of Family Psychology and Development and Psychopathology.
