New study reveals 'problematic' consequences of Gen Z's smartphone addiction

A study has found teens with a problematic relationship with their smartphones are suffering more anxiety, depression and insomnia.

As younger generations are growing up with smartphones, some Americans are taking the drastic step of ditching their devices for “dumbphones” in an attempt to stop doomscrolling.

It comes as two new studies have found increasing numbers of teens have developed what resembles an addiction to their smartphones, with time spent scrolling being to the detriment of other meaningful activities.

Researchers at King's College London say other problematic behaviours include panicking if they cannot use their phone and having difficulty moderating the time spent on the device.

According to experts, a minority of teens are affected and the behaviour is less extreme than an addiction. However, there may soon be enough evidence for doctors to classify it as one.

Young people who reported problematic mobile phone use were twice as likely to report symptoms of anxiety than those who did not.

44 per cent of those aged between 13 and 16 who reported problematic use of their device reported symptoms of anxiety, compared with 26.4 per of more moderate phone users.

An author of both studies and professor of medical statistics at King’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Ben Carter, said: “By revealing the link between problematic use of smartphones and poorer mental health, and demonstrating that young people are aware of this problem and are eager to manage their use, these studies highlight the need for evidence-based interventions to help adolescents struggling with difficult behaviours around their smartphone use.”

Researchers stressed that problematic phone use was not the same as screen time. They found that use of social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram was higher amongst 16 to 18-year-olds with problematic smartphone use, but WhatsApp and other general internet use were the same among all phone users.

They found girls were more likely than boys to report problematic phone use, with many young people also revealing their desire to spend less time on their phones.

Dean Burnett, neuroscientist and author of Why Your Parents Are Hung Up On Your Phone and What To Do About It, said: “The most encouraging for me is that these young people say they want help and they don’t want to use their phones as much… there’s far more awareness there and a recognition that they aren’t using aren’t phones in a healthy way.”

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