Gaztañaga Mirari, Idoiaga-Mondragon Nahia, Legorburu Fernandez Idoia, Eiguren Munitis Amaia
Department of Basic Psychological Processes and Their Development, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain.
Department of Evolutionary and Educational Psychology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, Spain.
Front Psychol. 2025 Jun 19;16:1596595. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1596595. eCollection 2025.
Smartphones have become central to everyday life, especially among children and adolescents. While they provide opportunities for communication, learning, and entertainment, growing concerns persist regarding their association with negative outcomes such as anxiety, depression, and reduced social and cognitive development. Despite the prevalence of these concerns, children's own perspectives are often overlooked in debates about smartphone regulation and education.
This mixed-methods study involved a total of 642 children from the Basque Country. Data collection combined quantitative and qualitative approaches to explore children's perceptions of smartphone use. Participants shared their experiences and opinions through structured questionnaires and open-ended responses, allowing for both statistical analysis and thematic exploration.
Children identified four main benefits of smartphone use: (1) maintaining social connections and contacting parents in emergencies, (2) accessing information, (3) reducing boredom, and (4) engaging in multimedia entertainment. Ownership status influenced perceived benefits: those with personal devices highlighted communication and academic uses, while those using parents' devices focused on entertainment. The study also examined the role of smartphone education in schools and family discussions, revealing significant correlations with children's reported benefits.
Findings underscore the importance of incorporating children's voices into digital policy and educational strategies. The study highlights the need for early digital education programs that promote balanced and responsible use. Additionally, it identifies boredom as a potentially constructive driver for creative and emotional development. Adopting a child-centered framework for understanding smartphone use can foster more effective and empathetic approaches to digital wellbeing.
智能手机已成为日常生活的核心，在儿童和青少年中尤为如此。虽然它们提供了交流、学习和娱乐的机会，但人们对其与焦虑、抑郁以及社会和认知发展受限等负面结果的关联日益担忧。尽管这些担忧普遍存在，但在关于智能手机监管和教育的辩论中，儿童自身的观点往往被忽视。
这项混合方法研究共涉及来自巴斯克地区的642名儿童。数据收集结合了定量和定性方法，以探究儿童对智能手机使用的看法。参与者通过结构化问卷和开放式回答分享他们的经历和观点，从而既能进行统计分析，又能进行主题探索。
儿童确定了智能手机使用的四个主要好处：（1）在紧急情况下维持社会联系和与父母取得联系；（2）获取信息；（3）减少无聊感；（4）参与多媒体娱乐。所有权状态影响了感知到的好处：拥有个人设备的儿童强调通信和学习用途，而使用父母设备的儿童则侧重于娱乐。该研究还考察了智能手机教育在学校和家庭讨论中的作用，发现其与儿童报告的好处存在显著相关性。
研究结果强调了将儿童的声音纳入数字政策和教育战略的重要性。该研究强调需要开展早期数字教育项目，以促进平衡和负责任的使用。此外，它将无聊感确定为创意和情感发展的一个潜在建设性驱动因素。采用以儿童为中心的框架来理解智能手机的使用，可以促进更有效和更具同理心的数字健康方法。
