The ‘expert panel’ who won’t say how young is too young for a smartphone

The world’s top cyber-psychologist, Dr Mary Aiken, is happy to say no child under 14 should have a smartphone. Bill Gates happily says he didn’t let his children have phones until they were 14. But when we asked this panel – asked by the Government on Thursday to help set policy on internet safety – to say what should be the youngest age, not one would give a figure...

Brian O’Neill

THE DIT professor said: ‘In relation to smartphones, I really do kick back against this question sometimes. It’s a key question which many parents and children will have and they need to be informed to make that kind of decision. It would be inappropriate of me to set an age.’

Cillian Fogarty

CILLIAN is a member of Webwise’s Advisory Panel and a fifth-year pupil from Offaly: ‘I don’t think there should be a limited age. It should be up to the parents. Like, there should be guidelines and it should be up to the parents and if their child is mature enough to handle it…’

Antóin O Lachtnáin

THE Digital Rights Ireland member said: ‘If the child doesn’t have a smartphone, do they spend all their time at home playing on the computer? That’s just as much an issue.’

Grainia Long

LAST year the ISPCC reported that it had been aware of a nine-year-old girl ‘sexting’ images of herself to classmates, and six-year-olds seeing pornography. Its chief Ms Long said that the ISPCC would be happy to follow guidance from a Government-appointed internet safety organisation which studied all the evidence and data available. However, she was not able to give a view of her own, or on behalf of the charity. ‘I feel really sorry for parents who have to make decisions like, “Should I buy my child a smart phone for Christmas?” she said. ‘It’s a really difficult question to answer and it would be easier if a lot of organisations put up their hand and said, “This is the age it should be.” The ISPCC will not make that call.’

Niamh Sweeney

FACEBOOK’S head of public policy said: ‘It would only be a personal opinion and I’m not sure how valuable that would be.’

Ms Sweeney ultimately said she did not feel able to suggest an age. But she did defend Facebook against criticism that it not not verify the ages of children signing up to the platform, saying that doing so was technologically difficult – and that tougher rules might stop young people in Ghana from signing up.