MUM: BRIANNA WAS OBSESSED WITH PHONE..
Calls for social media ban after teen murder
THE mother of murdered teen Brianna Ghey said her daughter was “completely obsessed” with her phone which caused a “constant battle” between them.
Mum-of-two Esther Ghey said: “Mobile phones have a lot to answer for, and it’s not just in the case of Brianna, it’s in the case of mental health for so many people
“I would say that she was addicted to a mobile phone as so many people are, even adults now.
“It was a constant battle between me and her, like me trying to monitor her phone and trying to limit it as well. I feel like that actually impacted our mental health.”
Ms Ghey is calling for a ban on social media apps on smartphones for under 16s. She wants to meet the Prime Minister to discuss limiting what children can see on mobiles.
Rishi Sunak yesterday praised her “empathy and compassion” in the wake of her 16-year-old daughter’s brutal murder.
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, were jailed for life on Friday for the “sadistic” killing of Brianna in a park in Culcheth, Warrington, in February last year.
Their trial heard the pair were fascinated with murder, torture and death and Jenkinson had viewed extreme violence on the “dark web”.
DRASTIC
Ms Ghey told yesterday’s BBC Breakfast: “I would like to see the law change so children only have access to children’s mobile phones, and that could look exactly the same as an adult’s mobile phone but without the ability to download social media apps.
“There is software available already, schools use it and we could link it up to a parent’s phone. If any words are being searched like the words that were searched during the run- up [to Brianna’s murder], it could be flagged up on a parent’s phone, and then parents are aware of any concerning things that children are looking at.”.
She said the Online Safety Bill was “a step in the right direction” but added: “I think we do need something a little bit more drastic for children.”
She is due to visit the House of Commons today to hear her MP, Labour’s Charlotte Nichols, speak about Esther’s Peace in Mind campaign which she hopes will fund a mindfulness teacher in every school in Warrington.
Ms Ghey said she would “definitely” be willing to meet the PM to discuss her concerns. Mr Sunak admitted yesterday he worried about his daughters’ online activity as he faced pressure to do more to make the internet safe for young people.
He said: “Like every parent, you trust your kids and then you worry about it as well.”
But he insisted the Online Safety Bill meant Ofcom can talk to social media firms and ensure children aren’t exposed to harmful content.
He added: “If social media companies don’t comply with those directives and rules and guidance, they will face very significant fines and penalties”.
I’d say she was addicted to her phone as so many people are, even adults
ESTHER GHEY TALKING ABOUT MURDERED DAUGHTER BRIANNA
MY son is going to hate me when he’s older. Many parents joke about this, fear it, worry. I definitely know it for a fact.
I’m resigned to it. He is going to absolutely despise me and accuse me of ruining his life, and slam doors, and beg, and perhaps cry, and still, STILL, I will stick to my unpopular guns, and not give him a smartphone until he’s at least 16.
Sorry but definitely not at all sorry. Like vegetables, this is for his own good, and he’ll thank me when he’s older – if he’s speaking to me again by then.
I’ve been concerned about young people and phones for some time, heard horror stories from the playground, but the light Brianna Ghey’s inspirational mum Esther has shone on this issue has sealed the deal. It would be wonderful if she’s successful in her mission to get under
16s blocked from social media, and for there to be stricter regulations overall, but would that be enough?
Even the most careful parent, certain they’re thoroughly monitoring their child’s mobile, can be fooled. Kids are far more savvy about all this than us, plus lying, rebelling and pushing boundaries is a rite of passage.
Apparently many mums and dads don’t even know the names of the apps their children communicate on, because they delete them every day before they get home from school, and reinstall them the next morning when they leave the house.
More than 50% of children have a mobile by the age of seven, and that rises to 93% when you get to the 12-15 age bracket, Ofcom research shows. Nearly a third of young people will have viewed pornography on their phones by the age of 11, according to a report by the Children’s Commissioner.
My boy is nine – the idea of him being exposed to porn within just two years makes me want to move to Mars.
Bear in mind, this isn’t the kind of material on the top shelf of the newsagents back in the day, which would now be considered tame.
Now “depictions of degradation, sexual coercion, aggression and exploitation are commonplace, and disproportionately targeted against teenage girls”, says the Children’s Commissioner report.
Then there’s the bullying of course, which is far from a new occurrence at school, but pre-phone, at least you were safe when you were at home, rather than basically bringing your bullies back there with you.
If my son is made fun of for not having a mobile, at least he’ll get evenings off.
Being given a phone at a younger age made kids more likely to experience suicidal thoughts, feelings of aggression towards others, and the sense that they were detached from reality, a survey of 15 and 16 year olds in 37 different countries showed.
Maybe I’ll get these findings tattooed on my forehead, to save time when my boy is arguing about this in the future.
Parents in Irish town Greystones united to ban smartphones until secondary school, and 45,000 Texans have joined the Wait Until 8th movement, which delays smartphones until 8th grade (Year 9). Presenting a united front like this would obviously be the dream, but if there are any plans for schemes like this in my area, I haven’t heard them.
And so, I presume it’ll be just us implementing this policy.
I’m dreading it, but I will die on this hill.
My son will be the only one with a phone that’s not smart, because when it comes to this issue – unfortunately but ultimately oh-so fortunately for him – I am.
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If my son is made fun of for not having one at least he gets the evening off