Vital smartphones

SIR – Sophie Winkleman, who has called for a ban on smartphones for under-16s (report, February 15), appears to be unaware how crucial it is that vulnerable children are able to access Childline’s online services using these phones.

Seventy-five per cent of children who now reach out to the charity for urgent help do so online by using our live chat service, via email or by consulting the information on our website or message board.

I myself have seen how two suicidal children – one abused at home, the other seriously bullied for being gay – contacted Childline via the internet, and were both given the comfort and protection they desperately needed by counsellors using our live chat service.

I asked a group of young people visiting Childline whether they would prefer to phone or use the internet if they were suffering, and they all said they would find it easier to write. That is where children are these days, and where Childline needs to be to help them, and for that they need a smartphone.

Ms Winkleman would be very welcome to visit one of our bases to see our counsellors in action. This would, I believe, reassure her that smartphones provide vital help when children need it most. The solution to keep them safe is for the law to make the providers legally responsible and accountable for any harm they cause, which is what the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has long campaigned for.

Dame Esther Rantzen Founder and President, Childline Lyndhurst, Hampshire