Researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have studied the link between the age at which teenagers get a smartphone and their subsequent mental and physical health.

費城兒童醫院的研究人員研究了青少年取得智慧型手機的年齡與其後心理及身體健康之間的聯繫。

The study analyzed data from 1,959 participants and suggests that getting a smartphone at age 13 is generally safer than getting one at age 12 or earlier. This conclusion is based on a comparison of data showing that 12-year-old users had higher rates of depression, obesity, and lack of sleep. While the data indicates that starting at age 13 does not lead to more depression or obesity, there is still a clear risk regarding poor sleep habits.

該研究分析了 1,959 名參與者的數據，並指出在 13 歲取得智慧型手機通常比 12 歲或更早取得更安全。這一結論是基於數據比較，顯示 12 歲的用戶患有憂鬱、肥胖及睡眠不足的率較高。雖然數據顯示 13 歲開始使用不會導致更多的憂鬱或肥胖，但睡眠習慣不佳的風險依然明顯。

Furthermore, the analysis shows that health risks increase significantly based on how long a person uses their device. Specifically, the chance of experiencing poor sleep, depression, or obesity increases by more than 100% when daily use exceeds five hours, compared to those who use it for two hours or less. Consequently, because teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep for brain development, researchers emphasize the need for strict rules. They recommend keeping devices out of bedrooms at night and setting clear time limits on daily use to reduce these negative effects.

此外，分析顯示健康風險會根據使用設備的時間長短而顯著增加。具體而言，與每天使用 2 小時或更少的人相比，當每日使用時間超過 5 小時時，發生睡眠不佳、憂鬱或肥胖的機會增加超過 100%。因此，由於青少年大腦發育需要 8-10 小時的睡眠，研究人員強調有必要制定嚴格的規定。他們建議晚上將設備移出臥室，並對每日使用時間設定明確的限制，以減少這些負面影響。

The study concludes that waiting until age 13 to get a smartphone, combined with supervised usage limits, leads to better health outcomes for adolescents.

研究結論指出，等到 13 歲才取得智慧型手機，加上受監督的使用限制，能為青少年帶來更好的健康結果。