- The report by the Global Mind Project shows that wealthy countries where children are more likely to get smartphones at a relatively young age, have poor mental health levels.
- For instance, those between 18-24-year-olds, who are the first generation to be born into a world of smartphones and social media, showed a declining state of mental well-being in adulthood.
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Children who acquire mobile phones at a young age are likely to have a decline in their mental well-being as they grow older, a Mental State of the World Report shows.
The report by the Global Mind Project shows that wealthy countries where children are more likely to get smartphones at a relatively young age, have poor mental health levels.
The 2023 report provides a perspective on the Internet-enabled global population while providing insights into trends since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Across a sample of 27,969 respondents, the survey established that mental well-being worsened in a situation where children acquired smartphones at a younger age.
For instance, those between 18-24 year olds, who are the first generation to be born into a world of smartphones and social media, showed a declining state of mental well-being in adulthood.
At the same time, 74 per cent of female respondents aged 18-24 who got their first smartphone at age 6 had MHQ scores that fell within a Distressed or Struggling range, the report shows.
This decreased to 61 per cent for those who acquired their first smartphone at age 10, and 52 per cent for those who acquired their first smartphone at age 15.
“The impacts of owning a smartphone at a young age were especially pronounced for the dimension of Social Self and drove symptoms such as Suicidal thoughts, Feeling detached from reality and Feelings of aggression towards others,’’ the report reads in part.
In countries that are generally at the top of the list in this report, and less developed countries in general, the average age which young people first own a smartphone is typically older- about 16 years in Sub-Saharan Africa.
"The age at which children first own a smartphone, and the way this consequently opens up their world to the internet and social media, therefore seems to be a key factor in declining mental wellbeing trends,’’ the report shows.
The survey sampled 500,000 individuals collected during the year across 71 countries spanning nine geographic regions in 2021, another report showed that the average mental wellbeing scores of the Internet-enabled populations of countries were strongly and significantly negatively correlated with economic metrics.
The fourth report on the mental state of the world shows that the dramatic decline in mental well-being that occurred between 2019 and 2020 continues to persist beyond the post-pandemic period.
Data was collected using the MHQ assessment, a comprehensive online survey of cognitive and emotional capabilities that provide an overall well-being metric.
The tool also provides a multiple dimensional views that relate to the ability to navigate the normal stress of life and function productivity.
"The age at which children first own a smartphone, and the way this consequently opens up their world to the internet and social media, therefore seems to be a key factor in declining mental wellbeing trends,’’ the report states.
The report highlights mental well-being trends over time as well as the relative mental well-being of 71 countries.
"In the aggregate, mental well-being scores and the percentage of the population Distressed or Struggling stayed steady relative to the previous year,’’ the report states.