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Feelings of aggression, anger and hallucinations are rising sharply among adolescents in the U.S. and India — and the increase is linked to the progressively younger age at which children are acquiring cellphones, according to a new study.
Researchers with the nonprofit Sapien Labs wrote in their Jan. 23 report:
“Swift action is needed to safeguard younger generations from a future marked by increased anger, aggression, and violence. … We urge parents at the very least to delay giving their child a smartphone until at least 8th grade or age 13 so as to give them more time to develop healthier social skills and reduce tendencies for anger and aggression.”
The report was based on data from 10,475 adolescents ages 13-17 in the U.S. and India, with roughly 5,000 teens from each country.
The teens completed an online survey about 47 aspects of their mental health — which the researchers called “mind health” — and well-being. The authors compared the teens’ results with those of adults.
They identified three trends in the data.
1. Mind health and well-being are poorer with each younger generation
There is a “generational decline” in mind health and well-being affecting younger and younger people, the authors said.
According to the report:
“Just a few decades ago, the relationship between psychological wellbeing and age followed a U-shaped curve. Younger and older generations had the highest wellbeing with a dip in middle age.
“Recent data from the Global Mind Project and others shows that this curve has now collapsed, with mind health and wellbeing now poorer with each successively younger generation.”
In other words, teens ages 13-17 fare worse mentally than young adults ages 18-24, who in turn fare worse than 25- to 34-year-olds, and so on.
“The trend is particularly pronounced in girls,” the authors said, “where 65% are distressed or struggling in a manner that substantially impairs their ability to function effectively in the world and would be of clinical concern.”
2. Teens report a sense of detachment from reality, hallucinations and more
Nearly half of the teens ages 13-17 who completed the survey said they felt a sense of being detached from reality.
Over half of teens in this age group also said that feelings of sadness, guilt and anxiety caused them serious problems in their everyday life. And roughly half reported that they experienced “debilitating unwanted strange thoughts.”
Thirty-seven percent reported suicidal thoughts.
The authors also found differences when comparing younger and older adolescents.
Thirteen-year-olds reported markedly increased feelings of aggression toward others, hallucinations, anger and irritability compared with 17-year-olds. “This suggests that these problems are rising in younger adolescents,” the authors wrote.
They said the magnitude of the increase in aggression across just a five-year gap was “particularly disturbing.” The increase in aggression was especially pronounced in females.
3. Decline in mind health linked to earlier cellphone use
According to the report:
“These rapidly increasing problems of aggression and anger & irritability, particularly in females, can in a large part be attributed to the increasingly younger age at which children are now getting a smartphone.”
The authors pointed out that age differences for aggression, anger and irritability rates disappeared from their data when they statistically controlled for the individual’s age of owning their first cellphone, suggesting that the age at which a child or teen receives a smartphone likely affects the person’s level of aggression, anger and irritability.
“Altogether,” they wrote, “with more children getting their first smartphone at a younger age, these findings predict an increasingly violent future for society.”
The 17-year-olds in the study reported typically getting a cellphone starting at age 11 or 12. Meanwhile, 13-year-olds typically reported getting their first cellphone at age 10.
The authors acknowledged that it’s “still not yet fully clear” how getting a cellphone at a younger age contributes to a rise in anger, aggression and hallucination.
However, they said, staring at a cellphone likely exposes children and adolescents to content that’s inappropriate for younger audiences — and pulls them away from engaging directly with their families, friends and the broader community.
“In addition,” the authors said, “the numerous hours spent online disturbs sleep and displaces crucial in-person interactions needed to learn how to navigate social dynamics and conflict.”
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Is wireless radiation exposure also to blame?
W. Scott McCollough — lead litigator for Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) & Wireless cases — said he was glad the report highlighted the negative effects that cellphone use has on adolescents.
However, McCollough said the authors overlooked how the radiofrequency (RF) radiation emitted by the phone might also be contributing to the problem.
“There’s lots of science indicating that EMR exposure leads to behavioral changes and decreased cognitive ability, particularly in children,” McCollough said.
For instance, a 2005 peer-reviewed study found RF radiation from cellphones can decrease children’s and teen’s memory capacity and cause brain cell changes. And a 2015 peer-reviewed study showed RF radiation can impair learning and spatial memory.
Miriam Eckenfels, who directs CHD’s EMR & Wireless Program, agreed. “The RF radiation of the devices itself is just as harmful as the content that the user engages with.”
The study authors did not respond by deadline to The Defender’s request for comment.
Related articles in The Defender
- 10 Teens Gave Up Smartphones for a Month. Here’s What Happened
- For a Growing Number of Kids, Back to School Means No Cellphones
- Pediatricians Must Advocate For Stricter Wireless Regulations to Protect Kids From Radiation, Scientists Say
- FCC Knew Phones Exceeded Radiation Limits, Hid Info From Public and Courts
- Wireless Radiation Exposure for Children Should Be ‘Hundreds of Times Lower’ than FCC Limits, Environmental Group Says
