Should children have mobile phones?

While it is easy to associate mobile phones with online harms, most parents actually buy them for their children with safety in mind. They allow parents to keep in touch when children are in school, at a friends, or running to the shops. If there is an emergency, they are reachable. Also, there are various location sharing apps that can come in handy for tracking young people’s whereabouts. 

That being said, social media does open the door to cyber-bullying and even exploitation in some circumstances. In recent years, there has been a rise in sextortion, with teenage boys being the most vulnerable to gangs blackmailing them to commit crimes using the threat of sharing real and fake explicit images. 

A grassroot movement called Smartphone Free Childhood are encouraging parents to delay giving their children smart phones and social media access. They claim that the attention of young people today is being taken away by Big Tech and its addictive algorithms. The campaign has seen thousands of concerned parents sign the “parent pact” and support is growing. 

Further to this, a Channel 4 series called Swiped looks at the harmful effects mobile phones are having on children. Pupils at a school in Colchester took part in an experiment which saw them giving up their phones for 21 days. The results were staggering. The students found that they were more productive and sociable, they concentrated better in lessons and had improved sleep. 

There are alternatives that don’t involve enforcing a total ban. Child-friendly phones have been created with the intention of it being given to young people as their first phone. They are simplified so that they don’t contain apps. They still give parents a means to contact their children when they need but not have to worry about them browsing the web or surfing social media. New Vodafone research shows 67% of UK parents would prefer their child’s first device to be a basic feature phone. 

If this isn't appealing to parents or their children already have a smart phone, there are other ways to make it more child-friendly.  By using parental controls it is possible to limit the number of hours a child can use their phone, block access to certain apps and websites, and shut down the device at a certain time. It is important to be transparent about this with children to avoid any trust issues later down the line.