ABSTRACT
The global rise in smartphone and social media use has dramatically reshaped childhood and adolescence, with algorithmically engineered digital environments increasingly influencing young people’s capabilities and functionings. This paper draws on data from the Global Mind Project to examine the population-level impacts of childhood smartphone ownership on mind health and wellbeing in young adulthood. Our analysis reveals that receiving a smartphone before age 13 is associated with poorer mind health outcomes in young adulthood, particularly among females, including suicidal thoughts, detachment from reality, poorer emotional regulation, and diminished self-worth. These correlations are mediated through several factors, including social media access, cyberbullying, disrupted sleep, and poor family relationships. This trend appears consistently across all global regions with the magnitude greatest in English-speaking nations. Based on these findings, we advocate for the adoption of a precautionary principle. We propose the implementation of a developmentally appropriate, society-wide policy approach, similar to those regulating access to alcohol and tobacco, that restricts smartphone and social media access for children under 13, mandates digital literacy education, and enforces corporate accountability. These measures aim to protect the foundational elements of mind health and wellbeing that underpin the capabilities and functionings for human flourishing in future generations.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data Availability Statement
The full dataset from the Global Mind Project, including the data used in this study, is freely available for not-for profit purposes from the Sapien Labs Researcher Hub. Access can be requested here: https://sapienlabs.org/global-mind-project/researcher-hub/
Additional information
Funding
This work was supported by funding from Sapien Labs.
Notes on contributors
Tara C. Thiagarajan, Ph.D., is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Sapien Labs, where she brings a complex systems perspective to understanding the evolving human mind through global, interdisciplinary research.Tara C. Thiagarajan
Jennifer Jane Newson, Ph.D., is Lead Scientist for Cognitive and Mental Health at Sapien Labs, where she leads the development of the MHQ and the Global Mind Project.Jennifer Jane Newson
Shailender Swaminathan, Ph.D., is Director of the Sapien Labs Centre for Human Brain and Mind at Krea University, leading large-scale data programmes for cross-disciplinary insights into brain and mind health to inform public policy.Shailender Swaminathan