The Impact of Smartphone Use on Brain Function in Adolescence: A Scoping Review

TL;DR

This study reviews how smartphone use affects adolescent brain function, finding mostly negative impacts on mental health, sleep, and social skills.

Contribution

The study provides a comprehensive scoping review of smartphone effects on adolescent brain function, highlighting key themes and gaps in current research.

Findings

Smartphone use is linked to psychological disturbances and increased feelings of sadness in adolescents.

Adolescent sleep patterns are significantly affected by smartphone usage.

Socioemotional and executive functions show negative impacts from excessive smartphone use.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: The proportion of teenagers with access to a smartphone has reached 89 percent, marking a large increase in access to technology. Adolescence is a period of neuroplasticity where functional, structural, and systemic changes occur. Teenagers have experienced more persistent feelings of sadness and suicidality in recent years than ever before. Given the changes in this generation of adolescents and because adolescence is a period of neuroplasticity, this study seeks to understand the effects of smartphone use in adolescence. Methods: This scoping review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). A total of 104 articles met the criteria for inclusion. Results: Analysis of results revealed five key themes: Psychological Disturbances (n = 52), Sleep (n = 43), Socioemotional Function (n = 23), Executive Function (n = 14), and Sensory Processing (n = 1). Conclusions: Results suggest that smartphones have a variety of effects on adolescent brain function that are primarily negative. The results of this study can inform the general population about the ways in which smartphone usage affects adolescent brain functioning. Further research is warranted to determine a causal relationship between smartphone use and adolescent brain functioning.

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