BAN CHILDREN FROM OWNING SMARTPHONES, INSIST VOTERS

Two-thirds of adults believe under-16s should NOT be allowed their own internet device

MORE than two-thirds of adults want children under the age of 16 banned from owning smartphones, an exclusive poll for the Mail reveals today.

from one childhood obesity expert will re-enforce those concerns. Grace O’Malley, of the Royal College of Surgeons, explains that toddlers as young as three years old are now being treated for weight issues because of these devices.

Strong support for the ban comes from all age groups – but, significantly, it is highest among the 35-44-year-olds, who would be among those most likely to have children Thinks findings will add to growing pressure on ministers to act, after numerous childcare experts have revealed just how damaging internet devices are to our children. And worrying comments to today’s Mail

who would be vulnerable to be damaged by smartphones.

The growing alarm among parents has already led to political pressure. Last year, the chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Children, Jim Daly, received the backing of children’s carers and family psychologists when he unveiled proposals to forbid the sale of smartphones to under-14s.

The Irish Daily Mail/Ireland Thinks poll shows that 69% support the ban for under-16s, 30% don’t and just 1% had no opinion.

A random sample of 1,144 adults aged over 18 were asked by phone: ‘In relation to smartphones, please tell me if you Agree, Strongly Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree or Neither with the following statement: Given what we know about smartphones and the internet, children should only be allowed to own a smartphone once they are 16 years of age.’

When those who said ‘Neither’ – which only range between 1% and 3% – are excluded, the results show support from all groups, with 72% of those aged 35-44 saying they agree or strongly agree, while 28% don’t.

Support among young people aged 18-24, many of whom would be students, is at 59%, with 39% against; among those aged 25-34, 64% agree with 33% disagreeing.

Support dips slightly in the 45-54 age group, with 69% for, and 30% against. Among the 55-64-yearolds, support rises again, this time to 70% for, with 29% against. Among pensioners – those aged 65 and over – support was 70%.

There is close correlation overall between the sexes.

Dr O’Malley, researcher in the Royal College of Surgeons and multidisciplinary lead of the W82GO Obesity Service, Temple Street Children’s Hospital, told the Mail. ‘We have children as young as three attending our clinic who are spending too much time on devices. It has been said before that more children can use apps than can tie their shoelaces. These are young children, toddlers.’

However, she said that this can change, adding: ‘When we are substituting learning life skills and practising life skills for entertainment, there is a pay-off.’

She also said there is a scientific link between sleep deprivation caused by the use of electronic devices and childhood obesity.

‘Most of the children who come to our clinic are not sleeping enough and are using screens more than two hours each day,’ she said. ‘Unfortunately, many are using screens for more than four hours each day (more than double the recommendations).

‘There are links in scientific literature between the time spent using screens – TV, computer, tablets, phones or video games – and obesity, whereby children and adolescents who spend over two hours a day using screens are more likely to be overweight and obese.’

During a furious Oireachtas committee exchange last month, Sinn Féin’s Kathleen Funchion rounded on Facebook over its alleged failure to protect children, tackle grooming and shut down fake user accounts.

She said: ‘I wouldn’t, under any circumstances, allow my children use it because of my experiences. Your forum is not a safe forum for anybody, including children. I feel very, very strongly about this.’

When Children’s Committee chairman Mr Daly proposed banning the sale of smartphones to under-14s, he also called for fines for parents who let their children have unrestricted access online.

GIVEN everything we know about the internet, why does anyone think it’s a good idea to give children free, unfettered, uncensored access to it?

Unsupervised, they can access pornography, they can bully and be bullied, or be pressurised into sharing naked photographs of themselves that are often forwarded to a wider audience and will be the cause of a lifetime of regret.

Yet by giving smartphones to our children, we are ignoring the dangers we actually know are out there. We are actively placing these youngsters in harm’s way.

Our poll today shows that a staggering 69% of Irish adults don’t think under-16s should be allowed to own a smartphone, an opinion shared by this newspaper.

The strongest support for such a ban came from those in the age group most likely to have young children, and also to themselves be sufficiently tech-savvy to understand the dangers of the virtual world. Yet our politicians, paralysed by the power and influence of the tech giants, do nothing to protect the young and vulnerable.

Many say a ban on ownership of smartphones would be unworkable, but how would it be any different to other legal protections? After all, the law says children are not allowed to drink, drive, gamble, smoke, have credit cards, vote, have sex, watch adult movies in a cinema, go into sex shops, live alone, and myriad other things we reserve for adults – yet we willingly give them technology that enables them to wander unaccompanied in an adult world in which they can be directly targeted by perverts.

Nor is the negative impact of smartphone ownership confined to the actual content that can be accessed. Mental health experts already report that children as young as three have become addicted to the devices, and that unsupervised, extended internet use also damages children’s physical fitness, physical health, sleep patterns and mental health.

The only people who think children need smartphones are the manufacturers and tech giants who make billions of euro out of them – though the bosses of these firms, just like the late Steve Jobs of Apple, wouldn’t dream of letting their own children have such a device.

Why not? For the same reason tobacco company bosses don’t smoke – they know what it does to you.

Many parents think their children need smartphones to call them in emergencies. However, in reality, a conventional mobile phone, offering only calls and texts, is much more suitable for this, as the battery lasts a great deal longer.

Smartphone use crept up on us, and only now are we starting to appreciate the real damage being done, in much the same way that it took years to establish the link between smoking and cancer, and opiates and addiction.

If a food additive was making juvenile attention deficit common among smartphone users, it would be banned straight away, so why not phones too?

Some internet ‘experts’ say education is the answer. Then why don’t we rely on ‘education’ to protect children from tobacco companies, drinks manufacturers and credit-card firms? Others say filters are the solution, but children easily can bypass them.

The phone manufacturers and social media giants simply don’t care about anything except profit. That’s why the simplest solution, while dramatic, is to cover all bases and ban the devices outright for under-16s – because the evidence is clear: smartphones are bad for children. That is not in question.

The only question is this: given that the public want children banned from owning smartphones, when will our TDs have the moral courage to act?