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Children who own mobile phones are doing worse in maths and reading

A national study has found that children who spend more time online and watching TV are scoring worse.

CHILDREN WHO ARE spending the most time playing computer games, watching television and using the internet had the lowest mean scores in reading and mathematics.

That’s according to a study by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) which looked at 8,000 Irish primary pupils.

About a third of children in second class had smartphones but the authors of the study found that the children who didn’t have a phone had much higher reading and maths scores compared to their classmates who did.

More than 90% of sixth class students who took part in the study had a mobile phone and so ownership was not a factor on their performance.

The study also found that second and sixth class pupils who had televisions in their bedrooms had significantly lower achievement than pupils who did not.

National assessments of educational achievement take place every five years in Ireland, with second class and sixth class pupils from 150 primary schools participating in the 2014 round of the assessments.

While the study found that long periods of unsupervised time using the internet, watching TV or playing computer games had a negative impact, it also established that children who had access to broadband performed better than those who didn’t.

The findings of this study reinforce findings from previous national and international assessments that have demonstrated strong associations between pupils’ home and family lives and their reading and maths achievement.

One of the authors of the report, Dr Lauren Kavanagh, said, “The findings of this study show that there are many ways in which parents from all backgrounds can successfully support their children’s reading and maths achievement. Schools may have an important role to play in empowering parents to do so.”

Read: Most complaints made to children’s watchdog are about schools>

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32 Comments
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    Mute SkylineSi
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    Sep 29th 2016, 8:56 AM

    why do primary children even have a smart phone? they shouldn’t. they should be out playing & exploring not glued to a smart phone. More concerning is what are they doing on a smart phone? any parental controls etc

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    Mute Goku
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    Sep 29th 2016, 9:04 AM

    My nephew is ten, he has unrestricted internet access. I tried talking to the parents but it’s pretty much if he’s quiet they couldn’t give a shit. No interest in understanding how parental control works and the benefits therein. I’ve a 9 year old and he has internet access but supervised with relevant restrictions, just in case! It’s up to parents to get up to speed with new tech.

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    Mute Peadar Ó Gréacháin
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    Sep 29th 2016, 10:29 AM

    Doing worse in maths and Reading, why are they using Google….

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    Mute James Darby
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    Sep 29th 2016, 12:22 PM

    @ goku, open the worst porn video you can find and play it for them, maybe they just don’t realise what’s out there.

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    Mute Peadar Ó Gréacháin
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    Sep 29th 2016, 1:42 PM

    Not

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    Mute OCallaghan TP
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    Sep 29th 2016, 8:48 AM

    In my opinion no child should be allowed to have a mobile phone. At least not until there 14 or 15 years old. Just because little Mary or johnny down the road has one is no excuse to give your child one.

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    Mute EvieXVI
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    Sep 29th 2016, 9:19 AM

    I got phones for my children when they were in 4th class and started walking home from school. I want them to be able to contact me if there’s ever a problem. They got cheap phones – but even those are smart phones. They don’t have snapchat or Facebook – I check the phones to make sure. The phone isn’t the problem- lack of supervision of what they spend their time doing is.

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    Mute Pseud O'Nym
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    Sep 29th 2016, 12:13 PM

    @OCallaghan TP: Who knows, if they have a phone maybe they can use it to find out the difference between the words “there” and “they’re”…

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    Mute EvieXVI
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    Sep 29th 2016, 1:38 PM

    Maybe you should do that…

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    Mute Cheryl Mellett
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    Sep 29th 2016, 9:12 AM

    Predictive text and a calculator on the phone makes the brain lazy as the child no longer has to figure out for themselves. The same pretty much goes for adults I’d imagine only they aren’t assessed.

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    Mute Jason Ebbs
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    Sep 29th 2016, 9:51 AM

    Its not just mobile phones, it’s tablets, games consoles etc. I don’t see the harm as long as there are ground rules. My daughter recently turned 11 and I got her a smart phone, but there are rules. She gets €10 credit a month, if she runs out of it she has to wait, she’s not allowed download any apps until I see them first. The only people she is allowed ring or text are the people in her contacts list and she’s not allowed add any contacts to the list unless I know who they are. She’s not allowed to take it to bed, school or out to play. As she obeys the rules I will start to relax them.
    As I said at the start no harm as long as it’s supervised.

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    Mute Dave McCrea
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    Sep 30th 2016, 1:11 AM

    @Jason Ebbs: running your daughter’s phone privileges sounds like a full-time job in and of itself!

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    Mute George Brown
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    Sep 29th 2016, 9:09 AM

    I would assume the simple answer here is that the more a child enjoys vices like TV, social media and video games, the less time they will want to spend doing school work with or without their parent’s help.

    But correlation doesn’t mean causation. There could be other factors. Maybe the kids who enjoy TV, social media and video games the most have less educated parents at an above average rate?

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    Mute Dave Murray
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    Sep 29th 2016, 9:35 AM

    Dot be blaming technology, it’s the Fools using it that are the problem and regarding the kids then it falls on the parents to not be letting them have their phone until their homework is done properly.

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    Mute Sam Palmer
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    Sep 29th 2016, 9:08 AM

    The middle class need to be educated on the perils of buying their kids the latest smart phone technology.

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    Mute TellingItAsItIs
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    Sep 29th 2016, 9:26 AM

    And the lower class? They’re every bit as bad and all have phones too.
    Imho, adults need to get their own stuff together first. We have murdered conversation and basic social interaction. I think in years to come it will be proven that the smart phone has not only destroyed many relationships but also marriages.

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    Mute Tony Gordon
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    Sep 29th 2016, 11:56 AM

    So children who spend more time watching TV and playing video games or during the net don’t do as well in school as children who don’t.

    We needed a study to tell us this?????

    Earth shattering article!

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    Mute Jonathan Medlar
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    Sep 29th 2016, 10:21 AM

    Some of the comments here would make you wonder if the adults posting them are actually soft in the head… A mobile phone is worse for a kid then a gun?? You must of really fallen out of the stupid tree at some point in your life. We live in an age of technology, schools are making students use ipads instead of books, kids can go to coding school from a young age, tech devices are readily available and even cars these days can drive themselves. Not having your child up to date with it and it’s good and bad qualities makes you as ignorant and stubborn as it comes. There are dangers all around us on a daily basis, especially now in the digital world with the amount of weirdos out there, being educated from a young age about such matters is key to digital survival. Times are changing for the worse especially for kids and I personally would like to know where my children are every second they are

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    Mute Sam Palmer
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    Sep 29th 2016, 8:55 AM

    Mobile phones are more pernicious to children’s health than guns.

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    Mute Jason Ebbs
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    Sep 29th 2016, 9:51 AM

    Never heard of anyone killed by a mobile phone

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    Mute TellingItAsItIs
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    Sep 29th 2016, 9:58 AM

    Except the one where they’re driving the car at the time

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    Mute Margie Murph
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    Sep 29th 2016, 11:02 AM

    ….or chasing a Pokemon….or taking a selfie right off a cliff.

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    Mute Jason Ebbs
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    Sep 29th 2016, 3:42 PM

    Ok. To put into direct comparison with a gun. I’ve never heard of a mobile phone been used as a weapon to kill anyone.

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    Mute Brian O'Donnell
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    Sep 29th 2016, 10:44 AM

    2 + 2 = 6. Sent from my iPhone.

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    Mute SkylineSi
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    Sep 29th 2016, 3:58 PM

    @Brian O’Donnell: #iDumb

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    Mute James Xenophon
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    Sep 29th 2016, 9:00 AM

    Maybe it’s because thick children are more likely to enjoy the uncomplicated delights of mobile phones and video games.

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    Mute Liam John Bradshaw
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    Sep 29th 2016, 1:34 PM

    Is it surprising, sure I can’t read some of their texts I get!

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    Mute Gerry Campbell
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    Sep 29th 2016, 10:47 AM

    That’s them all so..

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    Mute Marco Luis
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    Nov 17th 2016, 8:53 PM

    http://immediatemarket.com
    The best and cheapest quality products worldwide.

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    Mute Nydon
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    Sep 29th 2016, 8:12 PM

    Long periods of unsupervised internet are detrimental yet access to broadband is good?? Get rid of that dial-up quick and don’t leave your kids alone with a modem.

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    Mute Noel Falkhall
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    Sep 29th 2016, 4:28 PM

    The whole thing just doesn’t add up

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    Mute Aaron Gibson
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    Sep 29th 2016, 5:42 PM

    To plus to is for

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