DEAR ABBY: When should I start giving my child

DEAR ABBY: When should I start giving my child cell phones? It is a privilege to have your own number and keep in touch with friends on cell phones. All children want to have their cell phones as early as possible.

In Korea, they say it is also very difficult for their children to buy them a mobile phone in the fourth grade. It is very difficult to attend an academy in the evening without a mobile phone. A lot of my friends have mobile phones and are chatting on KakaoTalk or other messaging apps. They say that without a mobile phone, they are alienated from these companionship.

The best way is to give your child a cell phone the latest. Depending on your parents' circumstances and your child's schedule, the age at which you should buy a cell phone will be affected. Under those circumstances, it would be the best option if you bought your cell phone as late as possible.

Nevertheless... I would like to give my parents who buy cell phones the results of a study that was published in May at a laboratory at Columbia University.
https://sapienlabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Sapien-Labs-Age-of-First-Smartphone-and-Mental-Wellbeing-Outcomes.pdf

The core of this study is in the graph below. Please know the meaning of this graph and buy a cell phone for your children.

1. The data below were surveyed on about 28,000 young people aged 18 to 24. People from all over the world participated in the study. About 2,000 people from the United States and Europe, about 11,000 from South America, about 5,000 from South Asia, and about 5,000 from Africa participated in the study.

2. You have two graphs, right? On the left is data from young women. On the second is data from young men.

3. Even before this study, numerous studies have found that mobile phone use has different effects by gender. The use of mobile phones during childhood and adolescence makes girls' mental health worse. The x-axis in the graph below shows the age at which they first started using their cell phones. Young people who answered that they received their cell phones at the age of 6 to young people who received their cell phones at the age of 18 lie along the x-axis.

4. According to the results of the study, young people aged 18-24 who received their cell phones late had better mental health in various areas than those who received them earlier.
1) Adaptability and resilience – the ability to overcome bad environments
2)drive and motivation - the level of motivation to change work
3) Mind body connection - Insomnia or irregular eating have adverse effects on mental health. Investigate if you can lead a healthy and regular life in your daily life.
4) cognition - In addition to investigating cognitive functions such as IQ surveys, we also investigate problem-solving capabilities.
5) mood and outlook - investigate how you can control emotions such as rain, anxiety, fear, anger, etc.
6) Social self - Investigate your sense of security in how others view you. For example, investigate suicidal intentions, self-loathing, and concerns about your appearance.

Young people who scored high in these six areas are more likely to live their lives successfully. If you join a group and have a good college graduation who has a hard time adjusting, you are more likely to get low scores in the above areas. Those who score high in the survey are more likely to live happier and more productively in their long lives.

5. Young people who received cell phones late scored high in all six areas above. It is noteworthy that young people who received cell phones early showed particular difficulty in the mood and outlook, which is a link between social self and mental illness questions, which measured the perception of how others viewed themselves.

6. For boys, the association between cellphone age and mental health was relatively low. Nevertheless, there was a connection.

7. I have to send an academy, so I give you a cell phone. Rather than in this situation, not sending an academy to give a cell phone is a more positive decision of parents for their children's lifelong brain development... It's data that makes me think.