Study claims kids who get smartphones before this age are likely to have these psychological symptoms when they're older

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.

A team of scientists are recommending the US Government take on policies to outlaw phones for children under a certain age.

Researchers at Sapien Labs have released a study into the damaging effects of owning a cellphone in preadolescence and have called on 'policymakers' to implement an approach 'similar to the regulations on alcohol and tobacco'.

I got my first phone when I was just 11 years old, after finishing elementary school in the UK. I was gifted my brother's old Sony Ericsson upon entering middle school.

But according to Dr Tara Thiagarajan, the founder and chief scientist of Sapien Labs, that is still up to three years too young for the recommended age in which children should have a phone.

Girls who own a phone at the age of just five or six years old are more likely to have suicidal thoughts when they're older (Getty stock)

The neuroscientist is stressing that parents shouldn't allow their kids to own a cell until they're aged 14, and sadly the figures back it up.

Her team found that 48 percent of young females who owned a smartphone as young as five or six years old, reported having had severe suicidal thoughts - 31 percent in men.

Equally, women who had their own smartphone by the age of 13 or older - only 28 percent reported having had suicidal thoughts, while it's just 20 percent for young males.

"Our data indicate that early smartphone ownership—and the social media access it often brings—is linked with a profound shift in mind health and wellbeing in early adulthood," Thiagarajan said per EurekAlert.

The study by Sapien Labs has connected poor mental health to young phone usage (Getty stock)

"These correlations are mediated through several factors, including social media access, cyberbullying, disrupted sleep, and poor family relationships leading to symptoms in adulthood that are not the traditional mental health symptoms of depression and anxiety and can be missed by studies using standard screeners.

"These symptoms of increased aggression, detachment from reality and suicidal thoughts can have significant societal consequences as their rates grow in younger generations."

Sapien Labs is now recommending the US Government take a similar approach to regulations on alcohol and smoking and outlaw smartphone usage under 14 (Getty stock)

Before adding: "Based on these findings, and with the age of first smartphones now well under age 13 across the world, we urge policymakers to adopt a precautionary approach, similar to regulations on alcohol and tobacco, by restricting smartphone access for under 13s, mandating digital literacy education and enforcing corporate accountability.”

If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.

If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.