Examining the Effect of Smartphones on Child Development

Access to emergency services: In the unfortunate event of an emergency, students with smartphone access can find help more easily. As far as the effects of smartphones on child development, this constant ability to reach emergency services can give both children and parents a sense of security that enables growth.

While these perspectives should be measured, considerably more research needs to be conducted to build a solid case for how smartphone use beneficially impacts children as they grow.
The Negative Effect of Smartphones on Child Development
The drawbacks of smartphone use on children has received attention in recent years. In academia, journalism, and other popular forms of media, there has been a growing concern for the ways that children have increased access to smartphone technology.
Specifically, the behavioral consequences of smartphone dependency in children has received the attention of scholars across the world. An article titled “Association between mobile technology use and child adjustment in early elementary school age” used data compiled from a group of 1,642 first-grade children in Japan to determine whether there’s a link between the use of smartphone technology and behavioral development. The researchers found that “routine and frequent use of mobile devices appear to be associated with behavioral problems in childhood.”
Additionally, some scholars have even turned toward the adverse bodily effects that smartphones can have on children. A recent article published in the journal Child Development explored the physical health consequences of smartphone use for children. It stated that, as more children begin using smartphones at earlier ages, “it is of importance that neurological diseases, physiological addiction, cognition, sleep and behavioral problems are considered.” Because of this, parents and clinicians should be aware of the repercussions of early-age smartphone usage.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has begun identifying the risks associated with children using smartphone technology. The Washington Post recently reported on the WHO designation of how much time children — particularly babies — should spend on smartphones. The organization stated that children between two- and four-years-old “should spend no more than an hour a day in front of a screen.” Additionally, the writers found that a research gap exists in the field. They stated that “Long-term consequences can be hard to measure, and ethical concerns prevent experiments” that could explore the topic more thoroughly. As a result, we will likely be unable to grasp many of the negative effects of smartphones that will put children at further risk.
A root cause of the negative effects of smartphones on child development can come from an unexpected place. An article in the Atlantic stated that, before parents should be concerned about their children’s smartphone usage, they should first consider their own. As the ultimate examples of their children, parents need to be mindful of their smartphone consumption since that kind of behavior will set the stage for how children will interact with technology. Parents must consider what image they express to their children and how they communicate responsible smartphone consumption.