ABSTRACT

The global rise in smartphone and social media use has dramatically reshaped childhood and adolescence, with algorithmically engineered digital environments increasingly influencing young people’s capabilities and functionings. This paper draws on data from the Global Mind Project to examine the population-level impacts of childhood smartphone ownership on mind health and wellbeing in young adulthood. Our analysis reveals that receiving a smartphone before age 13 is associated with poorer mind health outcomes in young adulthood, particularly among females, including suicidal thoughts, detachment from reality, poorer emotional regulation, and diminished self-worth. These correlations are mediated through several factors, including social media access, cyberbullying, disrupted sleep, and poor family relationships. This trend appears consistently across all global regions with the magnitude greatest in English-speaking nations. Based on these findings, we advocate for the adoption of a precautionary principle. We propose the implementation of a developmentally appropriate, society-wide policy approach, similar to those regulating access to alcohol and tobacco, that restricts smartphone and social media access for children under 13, mandates digital literacy education, and enforces corporate accountability. These measures aim to protect the foundational elements of mind health and wellbeing that underpin the capabilities and functionings for human flourishing in future generations.

Figure 1. Average MHQ scores of 18–24-year-olds (males and females combined) by age of first smartphone ownership for the global population, as well as across different regions.

Figure 2. Results of a regression analysis showing how various factors reduce the beta-coefficient (i.e. strength) of the relationship between age of first smartphone ownership and adult mind health. The percentage change in the beta coefficient when each factor is added first reflects its total (direct and indirect) effect (dark red + light red), while the change when added last reflects its direct or independent effect (dark red only).

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