Using smartphones can improve teenagers’ moods

A small study of 12- to 17-year-olds suggests that using smartphones may slightly improve mood, adding new fuel to the debate about whether teenagers should have smartphones.

Experts are divided on this issue. Jonathan Haidt New York University researchers claim smartphones may be contributing to the mental health crisis Pete Etchells Researchers from Bath Spa University in the UK argue that there is a lack of evidence to prove such a link.

now, Matt Minnich and Megan Moreno Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison went further and showed a positive association with smartphones: They enrolled 253 children in the US in a six-day study who were texted 30 short surveys at random times between 9am and 9pm.

The survey asked participants whether they were using their phone when they received the text message and asked them to rate their mood at that moment and before they picked up their phone on a 1-7 scale.

On average, people said their mood rose from just below 5 to just below 5.5 on a 7-point scale while using their cellphone, suggesting they are using their cellphone as a mood management tool. “Young people report an elevated mood while using their cellphone,” says Minich, “and they report feeling better while using their cellphone.”

So, does this mean that smartphones are good for teenagers? “Smartphones are neither good nor bad,” says Minich. “If teenagers are also learning other healthy mood management techniques, then using their smartphones in this way is likely not harmful. But if smartphone use gets in the way of learning other ways to control their mood, then it could become an addictive or compulsive behavior. Importantly, there is nothing in our findings to suggest that smartphone use is harmful for teenagers.”

Etchells praises the way Minich and Moreno asked people to respond in the moment, rather than just to recall past feelings that could be misleading. But he disagrees with the suggestion that using cell phones to control moods is addictive. “I feel like we need to acknowledge that cell phones may still have negative effects, because we're so locked into that mindset,” Etchells says.