More Obvious Commentary about the Smart Phone That Makes People Stupid
January 16, 2026
Adults are rabid about protecting kids. Whether it’s chalked up to instinct, love, or simple common sense, no one can argue that it’s necessary to guide and guard younger humans. A big debate these days is when it is appropriate to give kids their first smartphone. According to The New York Times, that should probably be never: “A Smartphone Before Age 12 Could Carry Health Risks, Study Says.”
The journal named Pediatrics reported that when kids younger than twelve are given a smartphone, they’re at a greater risk for poor sleep, obesity, and depression. These results were from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study that surveyed 10,500 kids. This is what they discovered:
“The younger that children under 12 were when they got their first smartphones, the study found, the greater their risk of obesity and poor sleep. The researchers also focused on a subset of children who hadn’t received a phone by age 12 and found that a year later, those who had acquired one had more harmful mental health symptoms and worse sleep than those who hadn’t.”
Kids equipped with smartphones spent less time socializing in person and are less inclined to exercise or prioritize sleep. All these activities are exceedingly important for developing minds. They’re stunting and seriously harming their growth with smartphones.
Smartphones are a tool like anything else. They’re seriously addicting because of their engagement. Videogames were given the same bad rep when they became popular. At least videogames had the social interaction of arcades back in the day.
Just ban all smartphones for kids. That could work if the lobbyists and political funding policies undergo a little change. If not, duh.
Whitney Grace, January 16, 2026
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