A New Study Shockingly Shows Cell Phones Are a Positive Influence on Tweens — Under One Condition

If you’re one of those parents who doesn’t want their kid to get a cell phone until they’re 30, you might want to reconsider. A new study shockingly found that cell phones can have a positive influence on pre-teens! (And, no, your 12-year-old didn’t secretly write this.)

Researchers at the University of South Florida surveyed more than 1,500 kids ages 11-to-13 in Florida in a study that will inform an upcoming 25-year national study tracking digital media use in young people into adulthood.