Oh, I agree it's merely anecdotal, but, as a teacher, I've seen the effects. I can easily point out the kids who got their phones younger, as they have less ability to interact with other people and read emotions and such in an appropriate manner. They'd rather text than try to express emotion interpersonally.

And while he might not be tla social butterfly, I don't think it's difficult to say technology access is impacting his ability to develop socially fairly negatively. This is supported by quite a bit of research.