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As someone who was on computers being social from a very young age, I really don't get why there's so much push back on the smartphone, rather than setting healthy boundaries and having important discussions with children. As the article states, there's basically no correlation of smartphone use with just about anything, except a lower life satisfaction score one year after high use of social media in a longitudinal study, but this probably holds true for many adults as well.

To me it seems like the big factors here is that a parent needs to be involved with their child's use of a smartphone and involved in their child's life in a way that many people aren't nowadays. You need to be having regular conversations about the kids emotional state, how they perceive the world, some kinda check-in system to proactively identify where problems might arise and how to navigate complicated concepts with regards to socialization, mental health, and well-being.

I also think the article points out something important, and certainly relevant in my life. I couldn't wait to grow up because as a child, no one listened to me, my concerns, my needs, my wants, and they were incredibly hypocritical about what I was allowed to do and not do

"Children hate hypocrisy," says Livingstone. "They hate feeling they're being told off for something that their parents do, like using the phone at mealtimes or going to bed with a phone."

I think many parents take the lazy approach of not explaining adult concepts to their children and simply walling them off from experiencing the world. While some children might ultimately be okay with this, it doesn't work for everyone and I don't think it's the right way to treat children.