Most teens report feeling happy or peaceful when they go without smartphones, Pew survey finds
Nearly three-quarters of American teens say they feel happy or peaceful when they don’t have their phone with them, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center.
In a survey released Monday, Pew also found that despite positive associations with going phone-free, most teens have not limited their phone or social media use.
The research comes at a time when policymakers and child advocates are increasingly concerned about teens’ relationships with their phones and social media. Last fall, dozens of states, including California and New York, banned Instagram and Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. charged with harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing features that addict children. In January, the CEOs of Meta, TikTok,
Despite growing concerns, most teens say smartphones make it easier to be creative and pursue hobbies, while 45% say it helps them do well in school. Most teens say the benefits of having a smartphone outweigh the disadvantages for people their age. According to Pew, almost all American teens (95%) have access to a smartphone.
The majority of teens say smartphones make it a little or a lot easier for people their age to pursue hobbies and interests (69%) and be creative (65%). Nearly half (45%) say these devices have made it easier for young people to do well in school.
The poll was conducted from September 26 to October. August 23, 2023, among a sample of 1,453 teen couples with one parent, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
Here are some other findings from the study:
— About half of parents (47%) say they limit the amount of time their teen can spend on the phone, while a similar share (48%) do not.
— About four in ten parents and teens (38% each) say they at least sometimes argue with each other about the amount of time their teen spends on the phone. Ten percent in each group said this happens often, with Hispanic Americans most likely to say they often argue about phone use.
— Nearly two-thirds (64%) of parents of 13- to 14-year-olds say they watch their teen’s smartphones, compared to 41% among parents of 15- to 17-year-olds.
— Forty-two percent of teens say smartphones make learning good social skills harder, while 30% say it makes it easier.
— About half of parents say they spend too much time on their phones. Higher-income parents were more likely to say this than lower-income parents, and white parents were more likely to report spending too much time on their phones than Hispanic or black parents.