New study suggests that smartphone use can help boost a teenager’s moodA survey taken by 253 US students has revealed that on average, smartphone usage helps in regulation of mood and can be helpful for teenagers.
Matt Minich and Megan Moreno, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have put out a six-day study providing a positive association of smartphone usage among teenagers.
Matt Minich and Megan Moreno, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have put out a six-day study providing a positive association of smartphone usage among teenagers.
If a teenager has developed other ways to manage their mood, then using smartphones are a mood management tool might not be harmful.
However, Etchells disagreed with the attempts to suggest that using smartphones for mood management can be addictive.
New study suggests that smartphone use can help boost a teenager’s mood
A survey taken by 253 US students has revealed that on average, smartphone usage helps in regulation of mood and can be helpful for teenagers.
Key Highlights A study conducted in the US, of students aged between 12 and 17 has revealed that using a smartphone helps improve their mood, which further adds to the debate of whether teenagers should have access to these devices.
Matt Minich and Megan Moreno, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have put out a six-day study providing a positive association of smartphone usage among teenagers.
On average, people said that their mood lifted just below 5 to 5.5 on the 7-point scale, which could suggest that they were using smartphones are a mood management tool.
A study conducted in the US, of students aged between 12 and 17 has revealed that using a smartphone helps improve their mood, which further adds to the debate of whether teenagers should have access to these devices. Researchers from New York University, USA, and Bath Spa University, UK are at split ends on the matter. Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist researcher from New York University claims that smartphone usage is contributing to mental health detriment in teenagers, while Pete Etchells from Bath Spa University argues that there is a lack of evidence to prove a connection between the two.
Matt Minich and Megan Moreno, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have put out a six-day study providing a positive association of smartphone usage among teenagers. They enlisted 253 students to take part in a six-day study in the US, sending them 30 short surveys at random times between 9 AM to 9 PM. The mood of the students was calculated on a 7-point scale.
On average, people said that their mood lifted just below 5 to 5.5 on the 7-point scale, which could suggest that they were using smartphones are a mood management tool. Minich also said, “Adolescents reported higher moods when they were using their phones, and they reported that their moods had improved during the time that they were using their phones.” The study implies that smartphones are good for teenagers, to which Minich says that smartphone are neither good nor bad. If a teenager has developed other ways to manage their mood, then using smartphones are a mood management tool might not be harmful. But if a teenager gets addicted to smartphones and has not learned any other way to regulate their mood, then it could become an addictive or compulsive behaviour. “Importantly, nothing in our results suggests that smartphone use is harmful for teens.”, adds Minich.
Pete Etchells praises Minich and Moreno for collecting responses in real time rather than recalling past emotions, which can be misleading. However, Etchells disagreed with the attempts to suggest that using smartphones for mood management can be addictive.
