Overview

• Sapien Labs analyzed self-reported data from nearly 2 million people in 163 countries and found that receiving a smartphone before age 13 correlates with higher rates of suicidal thoughts, emotional instability and low self-esteem in 18- to 24-year-olds.
• Early access to social media platforms explains roughly 40 percent of the association between pre-13 smartphone ownership and later mental health problems.
• Gender-specific patterns emerged, with women showing decreased emotional resilience and self-esteem and men reporting lower stability, calmness and empathy.
• Lead author Tara C. Thiagarajan and allied experts are urging policymakers to impose minimum age limits, default parental controls and community pacts modeled on alcohol and tobacco regulations.
• Critics warn that the study’s reliance on self-reported surveys and its observational design limits its ability to prove causation and may overstate effects without clinical validation.