Smartphones are an integral part of many children’s everyday lives and often their first personal access point to the digital world. In Denmark, children receive their first smartphone at around age eight, and by the age of ten almost all children have access to one. Still, we know little about the role smartphones play in the lives of children aged 7-10.
Public debates about children and smartphones are often characterised by concern, yet research does not offer clear-cut answers. Rather than having inherently positive or negative effects, the significance of smartphones appears to depend on how they are used and in what social contexts. There is also limited knowledge about children’s own perspectives and how digital activities intertwine with family life, friendships and play.
This project addresses this gap by exploring how younger schoolchildren use and experience smartphones and what role these devices play in their health and wellbeing.
Purpose
Today, many children gain access to a smartphone at an early age, and smartphones are often a natural part of family life, leisure activities, and relationships with peers. Yet there is limited knowledge about how smartphones influence younger children’s everyday lives and health. This project examines how smartphones are integrated into the everyday lives of children aged 7-10 and what role they play in their wellbeing, play, physical activity, and social relationships.
The project will generate new knowledge about how children use smartphones across home, school, leisure settings, and digital platforms, and how these practices shape their social, emotional, and embodied experiences. Particular attention is given to both the opportunities and challenges that smartphone use may create for children’s health and wellbeing. The aim is to build a robust evidence base to support parents, professionals, and policymakers in creating safe and health-promoting everyday environments for children.
Method
Through ethnographic fieldwork in after-school settings and interviews with children aged 7-10, the project explores children’s experiences of digital communication, play, learning, and peer communities. Children are actively involved through digital ethnographic methods, using their own accounts and practices to show in what ways smartphones and digital platforms are part of their everyday lives. The project also includes interviews with parents to explore family perspectives on smartphones, rules, and digital wellbeing. Finally, young people aged 12-15 participate in workshops, reflecting on their own early experiences with smartphones and contributing perspectives that inform the project’s analyses.
Project period
1/1-2027 - 30.11.2029. Findings will be shared throughout the project.
Collaboration and funding
The Tryg Foundation (ID: 213398)