Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ypwilC6A8ec   A number of studies indict smartphone use for triggering an adolescent mental health decline.  Not so fast say a group of university psychologists in a study just published by the journal Clinical Psychological Science.   The investigators closely followed a group of 388 kids 10-15 years of age, both socioeconomically and racially diverse, who attended North Carolina public schools.  They collected data on mental health symptoms as well as personal tech usage at baseline and over a 2 week period.  Their data set included more than 13,000 total observations over nearly 5300 study days.   The tabulated results demonstrated no short-term correlation between intensity of smartphone use and feelings of isolation or depression.  Even those with a greater risk for mental health issues did not experience them on days of higher phone use.   The psychologists conclude that parents should stop trying to limit smartphone or tablet use and instead support their teens online and off