Psychiatrist suggests kids should only get smartphones after the age of 12

Kids who owned a smartphone by age 12 had a greater risk of depression, obesity and insufficient sleep compared to those who didn't, a research has found. Photo: Dreamstime/TNS/Lincoln Beddoe

Ran Barzilay, a psychiatrist and researcher at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, won’t be letting his nine-year-old son get a smartphone before age 13.

He made the decision based on data from his recent study, published in the medical journal Pediatrics, which linked getting a smartphone at a young age to worse health consequences.