Would you knowingly give your daughter a birthday present that was going to increase her chances of self-harming, developing anxiety and even depression? I assume the answer would be no, yet this is what so many parents do to their children when they give them a smartphone with access to social media.
You could not design anything more pernicious for socially insecure teenagers
As a mother of two daughters who are now teenagers, I know the pressure to do so feels enormous. Children see us adults glued to our phones, their peers have them, and their friends socialise on them. The temptation to give in can be, like the temptation to check WhatsApp, overwhelming.
Helpfully, some new research has come out which should help parents make the right decision. A report by Sapien Labs, which analysed global data from nearly 30,000 18 to 24-year-olds is unequivocal; the younger the child is when they receive their first smartphone, the worse their mental health as they grow older.
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