Receiving a smartphone before age 13 was associated with poorer mental health by early adulthood in a 2025 observational study of more than 100,000 young adults. The paper, “Protecting the developing mind in a digital age: A global policy imperative,” by Tara C. Thiagarajan, Jennifer J. Newson, and Shailender Swaminathan, appeared in the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities (DOI: 10.1080/19452829.2025.2518313). Its findings link earlier smartphone ownership with poorer self-reported “mind health,” but do not establish that smartphones directly caused the outcomes.
The researchers compared participants’ mental-health indicators with the age at which they first received a smartphone. Reported associations included suicidal thoughts, reduced self-esteem, aggression, difficulty regulating emotions, and feelings of disconnection from reality. These are self-reported indicators, not clinical diagnoses. Population-level patterns also cannot predict what will happen to any particular child.
Marked Gender Differences
The association between early smartphone access and adverse mental-health indicators was stronger among young women than young men. Among women who received their first smartphone at age five or six, 48% reported suicidal thoughts or intentions rated as severe on the study’s scale, compared with 28% of those who first received one at age 13. For young men, the corresponding figures were 31% and 20%. These comparisons describe group-level scores, not individual diagnoses or forecasts.
Early smartphone access was also associated with increased aggression, feelings of disconnection from reality, lower self-esteem, and greater difficulty managing emotions. The findings describe statistical relationships. They do not show that receiving a phone early, by itself, causes these experiences.
Social Media and Other Contributing Factors
Statistical models suggest that the age at which young people first opened a social media account explains about 40% of the observed relationship between early smartphone use and mental-health challenges. Other impressive factors include poor family relationships (13%), sleep disturbances (12%), and cyberbullying (10%). The results point to a wider digital and social environment, not smartphone hardware or screen time alone. Phones can provide access to social networks, messaging, entertainment, and other experiences, with effects that may differ.
Albert Xamena, a biochemist and science communicator, has voiced concern about the risks of giving children unsupervised access to smartphones and, by extension, social media platforms. The study did not measure daily screen time or the specific content accessed during childhood, limitations acknowledged by the authors. Family circumstances, prior vulnerability, parental supervision, and other factors may also shape the observed association.
The debate over digital technology and young people’s mental health remains contested. Peter Gray, a research professor of psychology and neuroscience at Boston College, has argued that “there is essentially no evidence” of a relationship between smartphone use and young people’s mental health. He has also criticized claims that phones and social media caused a global mental-health crisis. His view contrasts with the study’s reported association and underscores the difference between identifying a statistical link and establishing a causal effect.
Guidance for Families
In response to these findings, Xamena advocates delaying the introduction of smartphones, strengthening digital education, and implementing effective age-verification systems. The study’s authors propose considering restrictions on smartphone and social-media access for children under 13. This is a policy recommendation, not a universal legal requirement. They also suggest that basic phones limited to calls and text messages could offer an alternative for younger children.
The Spanish Association of Pediatrics recommends that children aged 7 to 12 should not have unlimited internet access and advises limiting total screen time to one hour per day. For those aged 13 to 16, it recommends parental supervision, daily screen time under two hours, and postponing smartphone ownership. The association also highlights the importance of keeping devices out of bedrooms and away from sleep routines.
Debate continues over the right age for a child’s first smartphone, and the study adds evidence to calls for caution and closer parental involvement. Its findings support examining when children gain access to smartphones and social media, alongside family context, sleep, and online experiences, while keeping the limits of observational research in view. As digital technology becomes more embedded in daily life, understanding its long-term effects on young people’s mental health remains a challenge for families and policymakers.
