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In a US study of 10,588 children, 12-year-olds who owned smartphones had higher odds of depression, obesity, and insufficient sleep than those who did not. The findings are associations, not proof that getting a phone caused any of these outcomes—and they do not mean every child with a smartphone will experience them.
What the study found at age 12
The peer-reviewed study “Smartphone Ownership, Age of Smartphone Acquisition, and Health Outcomes in Early Adolescence” analyzed 10,588 participants in the US Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Caregivers reported whether a child owned a smartphone and the age the child first acquired one. Researchers compared health outcomes for 12-year-olds with and without a smartphone.
| Outcome at age 12 | Association with smartphone ownership | 95% confidence interval |
|---|---|---|
| Depression | Higher odds (OR 1.31) | 1.05–1.63 |
| Obesity | Higher odds (OR 1.40) | 1.20–1.63 |
| Insufficient sleep | Higher odds (OR 1.62) | 1.46–1.79 |
These are odds ratios, not percentage-point increases in the share of children affected. For example, an odds ratio of 1.31 does not mean 31% more children became depressed. The researchers used mixed-effects logistic regression and adjusted for demographic and socioeconomic factors, ownership of other devices, pubertal development, and parental monitoring.
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The researchers also examined 3,486 young people who did not own a smartphone at age 12. Of these, 1,546 acquired one by the age-13 assessment, while 1,940 remained without one. At age 13, the group that acquired a phone had higher odds of clinical-level psychopathology (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.12–2.20) and insufficient sleep (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.26–1.77) than the group that remained without a phone. This analysis controlled for baseline mental health and sleep.
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The study also found that younger age of smartphone acquisition was associated with obesity and insufficient sleep in its models. These results describe associations in the measured groups; they do not establish that acquiring a phone caused the differences.
What the findings do—and do not—tell parents
Ownership is not the same as screen time
The exposure in the main study was smartphone ownership, not hours spent using a phone, social media use, or overall screen use. It did not compare phone models, apps, or specific features, so its findings cannot identify which, if any, aspect of phone use is connected to the observed outcomes.
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Association is not proof of cause
This was observational research, rather than an experiment assigning children to receive or not receive a phone. Statistical adjustments account for measured differences, but cannot eliminate every possible unmeasured factor or establish which came first. The results therefore do not show that smartphone ownership itself caused depression, obesity, or insufficient sleep.
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The results describe group-level odds
The comparisons are about odds across groups, not predictions for an individual child. They cannot tell a parent whether a particular 12-year-old will develop a health problem after getting a smartphone.
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How broader screen-time figures fit in
A separate CDC National Center for Health Statistics report, Daily Screen Time Among Teenagers: United States, July 2021–December 2023, measured self-reported screen time—not smartphone ownership. In that US survey, 50.4% of teenagers ages 12–17 reported at least four hours of daily screen time. Among teenagers reporting four or more hours, 27.1% reported anxiety symptoms and 25.9% reported depression symptoms in the prior two weeks; these symptoms were more prevalent than among teenagers reporting less than four hours. The report is descriptive and does not show that screen time alone caused the symptoms.
Because the CDC report measures a different exposure in a broader age group, its figures should not be combined with the ABCD study’s smartphone-ownership findings.
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A practical way to make the phone decision
The study does not establish a safe age to get a phone or a set of rules that will prevent the reported outcomes. It does support approaching the decision thoughtfully rather than assuming ownership is health-neutral. Parents can use the decision to discuss when a phone is needed, what boundaries the family wants, and how to revisit those choices as a child’s circumstances change. Those are practical considerations, not interventions tested by the study.
Lead author Ran Barzilay, MD, PhD, a child psychiatrist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said the findings suggest families should view smartphones as a significant factor in teen health and approach the decision to give a child a phone with care. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s study summary provides his statement and an overview of the findings.
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