It's not smart to give smartphones to young children

Kids who get a smartphone before the age of 12 are are higher risk of depression, obesity and sleeplessness, according to the recently published Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, reports Catherine Pearson in the New York Times. The younger they get a smartphone the higher the risk, researchers found.

The median age for the first smartphones was 11. Almost all U.S. teenagers are smartphone users, Pew reports.

Pediatricians recommend delaying giving children a smartphone and keeping it out of their bedroom.

Too many teens are "languishing," says Mike Goldstein. Instead of working in an after-school job, playing sports, walking, talking or reading a book, they're staring at screens from the time they get home to the time they belatedly go to bed.

The founder of Match Education, Goldstein has shifted focus from creating great schools to what happens after school, he tells Robert Pondiscio. He's created the Center for Teen Flourishing to focus on what happens "from 3 pm to 3 am."

"Once upon a time, boredom nudged teens to … do things," says Goldstein. "The smartphone and the trillion-dollar companies who sell them defeat boredom. That leads to an idleness that I think is bad for young people."

"Flourishing teens build busy calendars: sports, restaurant jobs, Starbucks hangouts with friends, church youth groups, scouting, playing guitar," Goldstein says. The center hopes to find ways to motivate more young people to do something.

Schools are struggling to get kids to show up regularly. The more opportunities students have to join a sports team, music, theater or singing group, robotics club and so on, the more likely they are to attend.

But many young people find an interest, and maybe even a sense of purpose, outside of school, says Goldstein. The center is trying to pilot experiments on what might get teens to try new things in the real world.