At what age should you buy your child a smartphone?

The results of a new study shocked parents.

Children who get their own smartphone before adolescence may face additional health risks. A new study found a connection between having a smartphone at age 12 and a higher frequency of eating disorder symptoms in subsequent years. Researchers analyzed data from a large-scale survey of thousands of children and adolescents in the United States and compared those who had a smartphone at age 12 with those who did not have one at that time.

This was reported by Futurism.

The researchers found that about 70% of the study participants—more than 6,200 adolescents—already had their own smartphone at age 12. Among them, the most common eating disorder symptom was binge eating: 9% of 12-year-old smartphone owners reported it.

By age 14, approximately 24% of the children in this group reported at least one eating disorder symptom. Among adolescents who had not received a smartphone at an early age, the figure was about 16%.

What do social media have to do with it?

The researchers suggest that one possible explanation for this connection is the content a child gains access to along with a smartphone. Social media are the primary concern, as adolescents there are constantly exposed to images of people who meet certain standards of appearance.

According to the study, children who had a smartphone at age 12 were twice as likely to link their self-esteem to their weight. In addition, they were 50% more likely to try to compensate for weight gain through physical exercise or other dangerous methods, including inducing vomiting.

The study’s author, Jason Nagata, an adolescent medicine specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, explained that a smartphone effectively puts a huge amount of appearance-focused content in a child’s pocket.

Constantly comparing themselves with bloggers and influencers can create dissatisfaction with their own bodies and lower self-esteem. According to the researcher, these factors, in turn, may increase the risk of eating disorders.

Age was a key factor

Previous studies have already shown a connection between prolonged screen use and eating disorder symptoms. The new study draws attention to another factor—the age at which a child receives a smartphone.

Survey data showed that each additional hour of screen time among adolescents was associated with a higher risk of eating disorder symptoms and a greater likelihood that a child would judge their own worth based on their weight.

At the same time, the study demonstrates an association; it does not prove that a smartphone directly causes an eating disorder. Other factors may also influence the situation, and a smartphone provides access to various types of content at the same time, so its impact cannot be reduced solely to the device itself.

Mitch Prinstein, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of North Carolina who was not involved in the study, noted that new scientific evidence provides grounds for considering delaying access to a smartphone by six months or a year as a possible way to reduce risks.