Watch our teenagers from screens, and in particular smartphones, this is a major challenge. If it is increasingly a question of removing the smartphones from our children away for their mental health and their learning, it must be admitted that it is difficult to deprive them of this communication tool, now at the heart of our daily life.
Risks before the age of 13
However, it would be better to delay the age at the maximum at which young adolescents acquire their premier smartphone. A new study, published in the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities (source 1) reveals that having a smartphone to oneself before the age of 13 is associated with less good mental health and a lesser well-being At the start of adulthood, compared to a later acquisition of this smartphone.
Published on July 20, 2025, the study was conducted with more than 100,000 young people aged 18 to 24, from cultures and various linguistic groups around the world. She revealed that young people who had received their first smartphone at 12 or before were more likely to report suicidal thoughts, aggressivenessa detachment vis-Ã -vis reality, a lower emotional regulation, and a weaker self-esteem.
Unsurprisingly, the data also show that the effects of possession of a smartphone at a young age are largely associated with Early access to social networks,…
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