Smartphone Ownership by Children Linked to Health Risks, Including Depression: Study

Findings suggest smartphones should be seen as a ’significant factor' affecting teen health, said a lead author of the study.

A child browses on a mobile phone in Los Angeles on Oct. 20 2015. Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Owning a smartphone in childhood poses a significantly higher risk of insufficient sleep, obesity, and depression among children, according to a Dec. 1 peer-reviewed study published in the journal “Pediatrics” from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Researchers analyzed data from 10,588 children, collected from a National Institutes of Health study. The participants had a mean age of 12 years, and 63.6 percent owned a smartphone. The median age at device acquisition was 11 years.