The Washington Post (12/28, Cha, Malhi) reports an “analysis of more than 10,500 children across 21 U.S. sites,” published in Pediatrics, “found that those who received phones at age 12, compared with age 13, had a more than 60 percent higher risk of poor sleep and a more than 40 percent higher risk of obesity.” This comes as “a wave of large-scale studies is quantifying how early smartphone access and heavy screen use can harm adolescent minds.” Across “studies, high levels of screen use are linked to measurable declines in cognitive performance,” and “rates of depression and anxiety climb steadily with heavier social media engagement.” Furthermore, “sleep quality deteriorates…and researchers are finding troubling associations between screen habits and rising adolescent weight gain.” The debate is now “shifting from one about whether screens have an impact – to one about how far-reaching that impact might be.”
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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)