Nearly 50% of teenagers think they were too young when they first received a smartphone, new research has revealed.
“I will be like ‘I have to do an assignment’, then I will have to physically put my phone two metres away from me so i don't check the notifications,” high school student Celina Lokeni said.
“I get distracted easily when I see the notifications come through,” another student, Mikhaila Haami, added.
A study from the University of Auckland and the University of Otago says 44% of teenagers surveyed believed they were given a smartphone too young, with 64% receiving one between the ages of 11 and 13.
It also found teenagers were spending about four hours a day on their devices.
Meanwhile, 43% said notifications from their smartphones interrupted what they were doing often, very often, or all of the time.
Lead researcher Samantha Marsh said the findings were similar to others linking early smartphone use to increased anxiety, depression and obesity.
“More and more research is beginning to show these interruptions are affecting cognitive ability. So, our kids’ ability to pay attention and stay on task while doing work, and things like that,” Marsh said.
Smartphone Free Childhood, which advocates for under-14s not to have smartphones, said the study reinforces its campaign.
“The average age a child gets a smartphone in New Zealand is 11,” managing director Katrina Colombié said.
“If they're spending 42 hours a week on these devices, that's 42 hours they could be playing with friends or learning a new hobby.
"They're being served things they cannot look away from.”
Student Merewai Foua Panapa agreed.
“Now that I am thinking of it, I stopped hanging out with my neighbourhood friends. Social media took most of my childhood, so I kinda regret it.”
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