Using a Smartphone Can Really Help Teens Improve Their Mood

A small study of children aged 12 to 17 suggests that using a smartphone slightly improves their mood, fueling debate over whether teenagers should have access to these devices.

Experts are divided on the issue: some researchers, including Jonathan Haidt of New York University, say smartphones could be contributing to a mental health crisis, while others, like Pete Etchells of the University of Bath Spa in the UK say there is a lack of evidence. to prove such a link.

Now, Matt Minich and Megan Moreno of the University of Wisconsin-Madison have gone further, demonstrating a positive association with smartphones. They recruited 253 children in the United States to participate in a six-day study, sending them 30 short surveys via text message at random times between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

The surveys asked people if they were on their phone at the time they received the text message, as well as to rate their mood on a 7-point scale at that present moment and before picking up their phone.

On average, people said their mood went from just under 5 on a 7-point scale to just under 5.5 when using their phone, suggesting they were using the device as a mood management tool. “Teenagers reported better moods when using their phones,” says Minich. “And they reported that their mood improved while they were using their phone.”

Does this mean smartphones are good for teenagers? “Phones are neither good nor bad,” Minich says. “If a teen also develops other healthy mood management techniques, it's probably harmless for them to use their phone in this way. But if phone use becomes a crutch that prevents them from learning other ways to regulate their mood, it could become an addictive or compulsive behavior. Importantly, nothing in our results suggests that smartphone use is harmful for adolescents. »

Etchells praises how Minich and Moreno asked people for answers in the moment rather than only remembering past emotions, which can be misleading. But he disagrees with attempts to suggest that using the phone to manage one's mood can be addictive. “It feels like we have to recognize that phones can still be bad, because we're so stuck in that way of thinking,” he says.