Smartphone Ownership as a Developmental Milestone

• Published in: Journal of adolescent health Vol. 64; no. 4; pp. 419 - 420
• Main Author: Selkie, Ellen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-04-2019; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Accountability; Adolescent; Adolescents; Clinical research; Deference; Focus groups; Humans; Individual differences; Maturity; Mobile Applications; Ownership; Smartphone; Smartphones; Social media; Social networks; Technology; Teenagers; Telemedicine; Well being
• ISSN: 1054-139X; 1879-1972
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.01.018

Selkie talks about smartphone ownership as a developmental milestone. Mobile devices and social media present risks and opportunities for adolescent well-being. As media technology has evolved, parental, research, and clinical interest in its uses and effects have grown. As such, clinicians are commonly confronted with discussions about device use and the appropriate age at which a child should have their own smartphone. Selkie cites a qualitative study regarding smartphone ownership and use incorporating the voices of early adolescents themselves. In a sample of 45 early adolescents, data from focus group interviews showed that the ideas of maturity, deference to parents, and accountability were important to youth when understanding the decision to have one's own smartphone. Participants pointed out the need to take individual differences into account, rather than a specific age, when determining the appropriate time to own a smartphone.