TAMPA, Fla. — Researchers at the University of South Florida plan to study 8,000 people for 25 years and collect data every six months.
They will track people’s habits, mental health and behavior over time. USF researchers will collaborate with the Harris Poll on this study.
Researchers just conducted a pilot study with more than 1,500 11 to 13-year-olds in Florida, which helps them figure out how to fine-tune the full study and what to focus on.
ABC Action News spoke with Stephen Song, an assistant professor at USF who is working on the study.
Song said the findings show smartphone ownership may actually benefit kids. He also added that posting publicly to social media was associated with negative impacts like symptoms of depression, anxiety and sleep problems.
Song offered this piece of advice based on what they learned.
"If we care about our kids, not buying them a phone doesn’t really help, but stopping them or educating them not to post publicly without considering the privacy issues and other things would be helpful for the kids," said Song, assistant professor at USF's Department of Journalism & Digital Communication.
Song also told ABC Action News that USF's research is different because it studies the group for longer and examines more aspects of media.
They hope to launch the nationwide study this year.
