No-one can dispute new phone warnings

OVER the past ten years, claims that smartphone usage among children affects their social and academic development have been dismissed by the major tech and social media companies as anecdotal and unscientific. Indeed, even politicians have agreed, backed by many of the government-funded agencies charged with oversight in the sector.

None can so casually and carelessly dismiss the results of a study by the Economic and Social Research Institute. In research conducted among 8,500 children, a massive cohort that adds significant weight to the findings, the ESRI found that children who had mobile phones at the age of nine were more likely to underperform in tests by the time they reached 13.

The research showed they scored, on average, 4% less in standardised reading and maths tests than those who did not have smartphones. This, the research says, is the result of the distraction and altered memory patterns caused by mobile phone usage and, most especially, by sleep deprivation. Stimulation is vital for juvenile brains, but so too are rest and sleep if they are to absorb the information they have received. What this study clearly shows is that too many demands are being made on young minds by social media, viral videos and the like.

There is little doubt the tech companies will claim other factors might explain the disparity, but that avenue of dissent has also been closed off, as the study took into account different socio-economic backgrounds and the advantages or disadvantages they confer.

In short, the science is watertight and alarming. You might think 4% is a small difference, but translated into points by the time those children reach Leaving Cert age, it could be the difference between forging a career they love or settling for one they are less enthusiastic about.

The name of the study is one worth bearing in mind by all parents of younger children. It is called ‘Later Is Better: Mobile phone ownership and child academic development’, and it concludes that giving a child a first smartphone is best postponed until he or she enters secondary school. That is sound advice.