It's funny how much media coverage is devoted to anything suggesting that phones might be ruining kids—and how little coverage goes to studies suggesting the opposite. So it goes with a new report from researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) that links smartphone ownership among 11- to 13-year-olds with a number of positive indicators of well-being.
"We went into this study expecting to find what many researchers, teachers and other observers assume: smartphone ownership is harmful to children," said Justin D. Martin, the study's lead researcher. Instead, "most of the time we found the opposite—that owning a smartphone was associated with positive outcomes."
Martin's research is part of a major undertaking meant to "track digital media use and wellness across the lifespan," notes USF in a press release.
