Could your child’s cellphone be hurting their reading? — and more UCLA media

The Independent reported on a new UCLA study showing a statistically significant link between lower reading comprehension scores for children who own cellphones compared to those who don’t. The study, which followed third and sixth grade students, found the correlation to be true even if they never bring the devices to school. “We found that there’s no age at which you can give a child a phone that’s better or worse for reading comprehension, so it’s just having a phone at all,” lead author Patricia Greenfield, a UCLA psychology professor, said.