Determinants of early smartphone ownership: a research gap in the study of problematic smartphone use in children and adolescents

Abstract

Over the past decade, a significant body of research has focused on problematic smartphone use and smartphone addiction among children and adolescents. Much of this research focuses on the negative consequences of smartphone use. Still, it assumes universal adoption of this technology without questioning the age of acquisition or without paying attention to the determinants of early smartphone ownership. Through a systematic review of 1053 scientific publications, a gap in the existing literature was identified: only 14 studies (1.3%) address the topic of smartphone ownership in children and adolescents—some of them identifying it as a predictor of future problematic smartphone use—and among them, only 8 of these studies (0.8%) explore the factors associated with early smartphone ownership, covering a population of n = 12,912 individuals. According to the results of this review, at least four factors emerge as relevant to understanding early smartphone ownership: peer pressure combined with fear of social exclusion, household characteristics (having multiple children, parental separation, free internet access at home, the use of electronic devices during meals, parental age, and parental education level), perceived adolescent’s maturity and parental concerns about safety and location. Other factors that may have an impact but need to be further explored are: gender differences and trust in tools to control use. Despite these identified factors, more research is needed to better understand their mixed relationships and their precise influence on parents’ choices. Our research highlights the need to expand the study of Early Smartphone Ownership as a research category. A deeper understanding of this issue is crucial to inform the policy debates currently taking place in many countries, as well as to guide parental strategies in building a new social consensus around smartphones and childhood.