The initial results from the University of South Florida’s Life in Media pilot survey are in, and they show that child cellphone use might actually be beneficial.
Last fall, USF announced the first long-term study that would follow around 8,000 preteens nationwide as they grow up in the digital age. Twice a year for 25 years, researchers will survey participants on their digital media use and corresponding well-being.
But they did this pilot study first to work out the kinks in methodology and inform their future research.
The preliminary study showed that cellphone use is linked to increased well-being among the 1,500 Florida preteens surveyed.
Furthermore, these kids spent more time with their friends in person and said they felt good about themselves.
The study also showed that children from wealthier families are less likely to own a cellphone, so researchers said income doesn’t explain these differences in well-being.
USF developmental psychology professor Wendy Rote said her theory is that cellphone ownership creates a sense of responsibility and autonomy among young kids.
"That's one of those things I'm really going to push to add a question about [to the long-term study] — that sense of self-efficacy, autonomy, feelings of self-regulation when it comes to media use,” Rote said.
But Rote said some digital behaviors correspond with adverse outcomes.
It showed that posting on social media can be detrimental to youth well-being — with increased symptoms of depression, anxiety and trouble sleeping reported.
Even small doses of cyberbullying were shown to be harmful for some participants, with links to depression, short tempers and difficulty putting phones down.
The preliminary survey also showed that efforts to reduce digital media use among children aren’t working. Specifically, 72% of 11-year-olds have a cellphone, compared to previous studies that placed that number around 50%.
Rote said, when it comes to a ban, she thinks “the ship has probably already sailed.”
“It doesn’t seem like banning cellphones is necessarily the answer,” Rote said. “That might be approaching the issue with a hatchet rather than a scalpel.”
The survey also found that over 99% of children use at least one electronic device (cellphone, computer, tablet). And children with a cellphone spent just as much time online as kids who did not have their own device.
This initial survey also gave researchers the opportunity to fine-tune their questions and identify some redundancies in the roughly 30-minute questionnaire kids will answer.
Rote said the 25-year longitudinal study will launch when the team gets enough funding for the first few waves — which will be around $500,000 to $1 million.
