London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – An online commitment to withhold smartphones from children until they are at least 14 has been inscribed by parents at 20% of schools across the UK, according to a campaign group.
A “parent pact” collected by Smartphone Free Childhood has been inscribed by at least one parent at 6,537 schools, with the signatories conveying just under 35,000 children. There are 32,000 schools across the UK, including nurseries and student referral units. The pact says that “acting in the best interests of my child and our community, I will wait until at least the end of year 9 before getting them a smartphone”.
What impact does smartphone ownership have on children?
Daisy Greenwell, the group’s co-founder, expressed the pact’s aim to facilitate the peer pressure factor among children requesting for a smartphone from their parents, as well as push up the average period at which children obtain one. Greenwell expressed owning a brick phone – a smartphone alternative that permits text and calls only – could become more pleasing for children if they knew their peers were banned from having smartphones.
“The peer pressure instantly dissolves if your child knows there are 10 children in their class who are getting a brick phone as well – and not a smartphone,” she stated.
According to research by the media regulator, Ofcom, 89% of 12-year-olds possess a smartphone. Greenwell stated: “The ultimate aim is to permanently shift the culture around when you give smartphones to your children.”
What regions show the highest sign-up rates?
Smartphone Free Childhood expressed the pact was anonymous but it has cracked down data on sign-ups into regions and schools, posting the findings on its website. The most signatures are in Hertfordshire, where 2,429 parents have inscribed the agreement. The county is a focal point of the smartphone-free action, with the city of St Albans endeavouring to become the first UK city to go smartphone free for all children under 14.
The next biggest regions are south-west London, with more than 1,700 sign-ups, and Hampshire, with more than 1,500. Greenwell said that the group’s website could then direct parents who have inscribed the pact to relevant regional communities and school companies on the WhatsApp messaging platform.
Concerned about the influence of smartphone ownership and social media on child development, Greenwell and her friend Clare Fernyhough made a WhatsApp group in February last year to keep each other in their decision to hold off from purchasing their children smartphones. The group now states its community comprises 100,000 parents.