Smartphones cheer teens up, which might be why they're potentially addictive

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-05-30 04:00

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US scientists asked teens to fill in short surveys on their smartphones at random points throughout the day assessing their smartphone use, current mood, and mood before smartphone use. They found using their smartphone tended to cheer teens up, and the longer they spent on their phones, the better they reported their mood to be. The findings suggest teens may use smartphones to improve their mood, which could explain why smartphones are potentially addictive for young people, the experts conclude.

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Journal/
conference: PLOS ONE

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

Funder: This study used data from a larger project that was funded by a stand-alone research agreement between Facebook's Youth Research Fund (2018-2020, Facebook, Inc.) and PI MA Moreno.

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