SCREEN DAMAGE
Mums & dads worry about time kids spend on phones
MORE than two-thirds of parents have noticed negative effects in their child if they spend too much time looking at screens, a poll shows.
The research comes after Rishi Sunak yesterday declined to give his backing to calls by the mum of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey for social media apps to be banned on smartphones for under-16s.
Nearly half of parents (49%) are concerned about the amount of time kids spend looking at phones and tablets, with 53% of children spending more than two hours a day in front of screens.
Parents overwhelmingly cited concerns around the lack of time spent outdoors or exercising, not getting homework done, and negative effects on their mental health.
Some 88% are trying to cut down their child’s screen time – and 34% find it more difficult to get their kids to put away their screens than to do homework or chores.
Esther Ghey is calling for a law to ensure phones are “suitable” for kids and for software to alert parents to potentially harmful content their child could be searching.
Her 16-year-old transgender daughter Brianna was killed last year by Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, who last week were jailed for life for her murder.
Jenkinson had watched videos of torture and murder online.
In a moving interview on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Ms Ghey said: “We’d like a law introduced so that there are phones that are only suitable for under-16s.”
The Prime Minister declined to say whether the Government might consider such a proposal. But did say: “I am always worried about what my young girls are exposed to. That’s why I’m pleased we passed the Online Safety Act that means the regulator has tough powers.”
The Tories promised guidance to ban mobiles during the school day but it is not legally binding and unions have branded it unenforceable. Matt Buttery, Chief Executive of Triple P UK and Ireland, which commissioned the research, said: “Too much screen time can negatively affect healthy development.”