A survey of more than 1500 children suggests that smartphones can be beneficial to their mental and social well-being – unless they start using social media.

Justin Martin at the University of South Florida surveyed children between the ages of 11 and 13 in the state to open a 25-year nationwide study to explore the link between digital media and well-being.

The researchers found that 78 per cent of the 1510 children surveyed owned a smartphone, and that of these, 21 per cent reported symptoms of depression and anxiety, compared with 26 per cent of those without a device. The children with phones were also more likely to report spending more time in person with friends.

“We thought that smartphone ownership would be associated with negative outcomes or negative measures,” says Martin. “But that wasn’t the case.”

The researchers found that children with parents on lower incomes were more likely to own a smartphone than those with richer parents. The highest prevalence of smartphone ownership, at 87 per cent, was found in children living in households earning between $50,000 and $90,000, while just 67 per cent of children in households earning $150,000 or more owned a smartphone.

Martin suggests this could have been in response to richer parents being more aware of negative headlines around the supposed risk of social media affecting mental health, while also reflecting the policies of the schools their kids attended: 58 per cent of private schools had a total ban on phones, compared with 43 per cent of public schools.

But such bans – Florida was the first US state to introduce one, in 2023 – may be on shaky scientific ground, says Martin. “We were careful to highlight associations rather than causation, but kids who have smartphones probably use them for social purposes, and in the same way that many adults do,” he says.

However, not all smartphone use is an unvarnished good. The researchers also found that children who said they often posted on social media were twice as likely to report sleep issues and symptoms of depression or anxiety, compared with those who never use these platforms. That said, the survey was not able to identify whether increased social media use led to mental health and sleep issues, or whether the reverse is true, says Martin.

“We recommend that parents and adults consider trying to keep their kids from social platforms where they would post frequently – or try to keep them from posting on social platforms,” says Martin. “But of course, it’s hard to tell a kid: ‘You can use Instagram, you can use TikTok, but just don’t post’.”

The children surveyed were evenly divided themselves about the merits social media, with 34 per cent agreeing that social media causes more harm than good, 33 per cent disagreeing, and the rest undecided on the issue.

“This is a fascinating study that makes important distinctions, particularly between smartphones and social media,” says Jess Maddox at the University of Alabama. “While the two have become synonymous with one another, this research shows that they are not, in fact, the same.”

“These are really nuanced findings that I hope encourage parents, educators, and politicians to think more of education for children on smartphones and social media, not bans,” she says.

David Ellis at the University of Bath, UK, says the work confirms similar findings from previous research, but that more work understanding what the data is telling us is needed before we can decide what to do about children’s smartphone use: “Lack of analysis makes stronger conclusions to support policy change more difficult to justify.”