Common Sense Media: 2023 Constant Companion: A Week in the Life of a Young Person's Smartphone Use

 


2023 Constant Companion:  

A Week in the Life of a Young Person's Smartphone Use


Introduction



Smartphones entered the lives of children and adolescents in
2007. Compared to earlier devices (flip phones), smartphones
allowed more than just texting and taking photos. Young
people could now browse the internet, choose from thousands
of mobile applications ("apps") and games, and connect
immediately with their communities through social platforms—
from anywhere.

As internet speeds and computing power increased exponentially
over the past 15 years, smartphones have become even
more powerful and versatile, allowing livestreaming, multiplayer
gaming, and creation and distribution of content. Over
a relatively short period of time, these handheld computers
have become a disruptive force in the lives of young people, in
positive and negative ways that adults who grew up with landlines
may not fully grasp.

Getting a smartphone is now a rite of passage for most children
and adolescents in the United States. According to
Common Sense Research, 43% of tweens (age 8 to 12) and
88% to 95% of teens (age 13 to 18) have their own smartphone
(Rideout et al., 2022; Pew 2022). About half of U.S. children
get their first smartphone by age 11 (Rideout et al., 2022).
Young people describe a range of supportive and stressful
experiences with their smartphones—some wish they hadn't
gotten one so early, while also describing it as an appendage
that they cannot live without (Moreno et al., 2019). The decision
of when to get a smartphone, and negotiations about
rules and boundaries around smartphone use, are frequent
sources of parental stress and family arguments (Mathes et al.,
2021; Francis et al., 2021; Hiniker, Schoenebeck, & Kientz,
2016).

Several factors contribute to young people's attachment to
their phones. First, it is developmentally appropriate for adolescents
to seek connection and feedback from their friends
and communities, and to want to do so on a frequent basis.
Children and adolescents have developmentally adaptive
curiosity about information, culture, entertainment, and
stories that help them make sense of their world.


Note:  The above comes directly from their study. 

 Click here to read the rest of their report.

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