Phones aren't necessarily as bad for children as we think, says Welsh brain expert

Dr Dean Burnett, who has spent years studying the brain and how it works, he has written a new book delivering some news that not everyone may want to hear

The impact of smartphones on young minds has been a hot topic, especially in the last decade. With social media's rise and addictive tech in the hands of young people, many are questioning how growing up glued to a screen is shaping the next generation.

But a Welsh neuroscientist and former Cardiff University lecturer Dr Dean Burnett, has a slightly different take. The has studied the brain for nearly three decades, and is now stressing that phones themselves are not the problem.

The scientist, who has published several books, is suggesting in his recent children's book 'Why Your Parents Are Hung-Up On Your Phone And What To Do About It' that it's not phones themselves that are the danger. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter.

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"Obviously some people have different opinions. But there’s been no science to back up the concern that phones are damaging young people’s development”, he explained to WalesOnline.

“The idea that phones are destroying attention spans or disrupts brain development has not been proven at all. The brain develops the way it does, because it’s evolved over millions of years.

“It takes more than just some prolonged looking at a screen to disrupt that. Most studies have shown that if you have grown up with screens and don’t do the book learning in school or memorise the times table, a lot of the time they don’t need to because they can do it using technology instead, that means they have a different set of educational abilities and skills compared to the old days but that doesn’t mean that the old days was like the natural order of things.

“Just because we wrote long essays and learned long poems in school that doesn’t mean that’s how it should have to be. That was an arbitrary choice as well. And now, children have lots of different abilities and can filter through lots of different information sources which is a really useful skill.”

Acknowledging that the relationship between young people and technology is a nuanced dynamic, Dr Burnett has also noted that while there are valid concerns about the potential negative impacts of excessive screen time and social media use, the reality is more complex.

He said: “There are some studies which show that those teenagers with higher levels of anxiety and depression also show more smartphone use but that’s very much a correlation, causation thing. It could be that because they’re anxious and depressed, they don’t have much social interaction so they do rely on their smartphones more.

“It could be that the smartphone is actually like self medicating rather than causing the problem, there’s no way to say either way and of course you would have to look at it on a case by case basis.

“There is a big study which shows that smartphones have the same impact on mental health in teens as eating potatoes, or having a regular breakfast and mental health problems. So clearly, something else is happening there.

“If there is a link, it could be that kids on their smartphones have less opportunities to meet people or are from different backgrounds. And the same thing for kids who eat more potatoes, perhaps their parents can’t afford as diverse of a diet, so you can put these arguments left right and centre.”

The study Dr Burnett notes, the association between adolescent well-being and digital use was published in 2019, and shocked people at the time, because it indicated that psychologists could not seem to decide whether phones were inherently bad for the brain. But the main message that also came across through the study is despite the fact screen time is a varied issue, many studies to date treat have treated it as being one-dimensional, which highlighted just how complex phones being part of our lives can be.

And now that phones and technology is now an integral part of young people's lives, Dr Burnett is also spreading the message that a more balanced and understanding approach is needed, rather than outright condemnation. He has seen cases where there can be potential benefits of technology, such as increased access to information and resources, as well as the importance of sharing experiences of young people who now have access to a huge network of people and opinions.

“It is just about using it in the right way”, he noted. “Rather than parents banning smartphones and saying they can’t be used, it’s about finding ways to use them best and find that middle ground between overly restrictive and laid back approaches.

"I've spoken to loads of children as part of my own research and their general attitudes to phone and social media are much less alarming than some people might think. Most of them, because they have grown up with it, are not overly obsessed with the concept of posting and being on it all the time. Lots of them just see it as part of life, so it's our job to help them use it in the best way.

“It is important to create an open and informed dialogue on these issues, and taking into account those diverse experiences and the needs of young people because not everyone is the same.”

You can find out more about Dr Burnett and his recent book on his website, here.