Tech

What is the right age to give your child a smartphone?

What is the right age to give your child a smartphone?

Should you give your child a smartphone, or keep them away from the devices as long as possible?

This is obviously a very modern dilemma.

Apparently even celebrities aren't immune to this modern parenting problem: Madonna has said she regrets giving her kids phones at age 13 and wouldn't do it again.

There are still many unanswered questions about the long-term effects of smartphones and social media on children and teens, but existing research provides some evidence on their main risks and benefits.

What is the right age to give your child a smartphone?

Most research to date focuses on adolescents rather than younger age groups, and new evidence suggests that there may be specific developmental stages where children are most vulnerable to adverse effects.

Additionally, experts agree on some key factors to consider when deciding if your child is ready for a smartphone and what to do once they have one.

UK data shows that the vast majority of UK children own a smartphone by the age of 11. In the US, 37% of parents of 9- to 11-year-olds say their child has their own smartphone. And in a European study in 19 countries, 80% of children aged 9 to 16 reported using a smartphone to browse the Internet every day, or almost every day.

What is the right age to give your child a smartphone?

"By the time we get to older teens, over 90% of kids have a phone," says Candice Odgers, a professor of psychological science at the University of California, Irvine, in the US.

A European report on children's digital technology use from birth to eight years found that this age group had a limited perception of online risks when it comes to the harmful effects of using smartphones and social media apps accessed through theirs. Strong evidence is lacking for older children.