Smartphone use leads to hallucinations, detachment from reality, aggression in teens as young as 13: Study

~ BKB108

by Rikki Schlott

Published Jan. 23, 2025

Original Source Link: https://nypost.com/2025/01/23/lifestyle/smartphone-use-leads-to-hallucinations-aggression-in-teens-study/

This article would not transfer completely and is a great article so I suggest you click on the link above and view it.

Chart showing how more than a third of 13-year-olds said they feel aggression, while a fifth experience hallucinations in the survey by Sapien Labs.
More than a third of 13-year-olds surveyed said they feel aggression, while a fifth experience hallucinations, the survey by Sapien Labs showed.

The teens surveyed for “The Youth Mind: Rising Aggression and Anger” were significantly worse off than older Gen Zers in Sapien Labs’ database and the youngest ages were more likely to suffer aggression, anger and hallucinations compared to their older counterparts.

Young girl crying while looking at phone at night
Social media use was found to be associated with increased aggression, strange thoughts, detachment from reality, and hallucinations.Brian – stock.adobe.com
A young person on a bed holding their head in their hands.
Exposure to smartphones from a young age leads to a whole host of mental health issues, according to the study — and scientists say the effects are getting worse.KMPZZZ – stock.adobe.com
Headshot of Tara Thiagarajan
Tara Thiagarajan, the founder and chief scientist of Sapien Labs, who have researched the effect of cell phones on young people.Sapien Labs

A staggering 37% of 13-year-olds reported experiencing aggression, compared with 27% of 17-year-olds.

Frighteningly, 20% of 13-year-olds say they suffer from hallucinations, compared to 12% of 17-year-olds.

“Whereas today’s 17-year-olds typically got a phone at age 11 or 12, today’s 13-year-olds got their phones at age 10,” the report noted.

Respondents also reported they could pose a harm to themselves. 42% of American girls and 27% of boys aged 13 to 17 admitted to problems with suicidal thoughts.

The majority of teens polled said they had feelings of hopelessness, guilt, anxiety, and unwanted strange thoughts. More than 40% reported a sense of detachment from reality, mood swings, withdrawal, and traumatic flashbacks.

The researchers also warned phones are making kids withdraw from society.

a video still showing the teenager demanding her phone back from a teacher.
A Tennessee teen demanded her phone back and then pepper-sprayed her teacher when he refused.Reddit
Teen girl pepper spraying her teacher
The high school girl then pepper-sprayed the teacher when he wouldn’t return the confiscated cell phone.Reddit

“Once you have a phone, you spend a lot less time with in-person interaction, and the less you have in-person interaction, the less integrated you are into the real social fabric,” Sapien Labs chief scientist Tara Thiagarajan told The Post.

“You’re no longer connected in the way humans have been wired for hundreds of thousands of years.”

Kardaras, author of “Glow Kids”, also wasn’t surprised aggression was associated with phone use.

He runs Omega Recovery tech addiction recovery center in Austin, where teens are often admitted after violently attacking their parents for taking their phones away.

The cover of the study, which shows a pair of teenagers in a school hallway shouting at each other.
The cover of study “The Youth Mind: Rising Aggression and Anger” which surveyed 10,500 teens between 13 and 17 years old.
Addiction expert Dr. Nicholas Kardaras in his office.
Addiction expert Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, who says his clinic frequently admits children who violently attack their parents for taking their phones away.Courtesy of Dr. Nicholas Kardaras

Kids around the country have also been assaulting their teachers at school after having their devices confiscated, with one Tennessee teacher even pepper-sprayed by a female student after he took her cell phone.

The CDC also warned in 2023 teen girls are at risk of increased violence — often at the hands of one another. Sapien Labs also flagged the uptick in aggression is disproportionately taking place in females, according to their research.

“There’s a fairly rapid rise now in kids experiencing actual violence in school, and kids are fearing for their safety,” Thiagarajan said. “That is something that everyone should sit up and take note of.”

Young woman scrolling on phone
Young women are more likely to report negative mental health status than their male counterparts.DimaBerlin – stock.adobe.com
Little boy on an iPhone
The study found kids who got phones at younger ages were more likely to have emotional issues later on.Adobe Stock

She pointed to a December school shooting in Wisconsin was anomalously carried out by a teen girl. It had been 45 years since a female juvenile perpetrated a school shooting.

That shooter, Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, 15, was known to have spent a great deal of her life online and had exhibited extremist views on the internet, but authorities are still looking for a motive for her shooting, after which she turned her gun on herself.37

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