UK parents back smartphone age limit
CONCERN is growing internationally about the dangers posed by smartphones for children with the majority of parents in the UK now supporting a call for legislation on the issue.
More than two-thirds (67%) of UK parents with children aged 10-18 believe the British government should introduce legislation setting out an appropriate age for the use of smartphones among young people, new research has revealed.
The survey, commissioned by the Priory Group, providers of rehab and mental health care, found that as many as 44% of parents said they would support a ban on children under 16 having smartphones, saying young people need only a basic phone to keep safe. In line with ongoing research from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, 92% of parents think that social media or the internet is having a negative impact on the mental health of young people, with cyberbullying, lower self-esteem, anxiety over getting enough ‘likes’, loss of face-to-face interaction, loss of quality sleep and its encouragement of early sexualisation being the main reasons.
Some 49% of parents said that their child worries about his or her appearance as a result of the internet and social media.
‘Primary and secondary schools in the UK could work with parents to develop a pact where all parents in a certain year group agree they will not buy a smartphone for their child, just a very basic phone,’ said Dr Hayley van Zwanenberg, group associate medical director at the Priory Group of mental healthcare hospitals and clinics in the UK. ‘In truth, smartphones are not just phones as such, but highly sophisticated computers. There is ample evidence to demonstrate the negative effects of phone time on older children, particularly on those using them for more than three hours a day,’ Dr Van Zwanenberg added. ‘These include structural and functional brainimaging changes, increases in emotional distress and higher rates of anxiety and depressive symptoms, and lack of sleep.
‘Phone time stimulates the “reward centre” of the brain, acting as a digital drug, so young people want more and more of it but young people should be active, investigating life in the real world and having lots of social interaction to develop healthily, physically and mentally.
‘Helping young people develop a positive identity, by building confidence, self-esteem and interests, without reference to weight or looks, is imperative. Ensuring they understand that social media presents a distorted reality is crucial.’
Meanwhile, children up to 15 years old in France were banned this week from using their smartphones in school, with the ban coming into effect in September. France had already enacted a smartphone ban during class hours, but this legislation will extend it to breaks, effectively completely banning smartphones from schools among students under the age of 15.