Delay Smartphones Campaign

For me the internet access is the issue; I'd like the old iPods back with music and a basic phone.

Ds has an old Nokia and I'm now pretty determined to make it at least 14. Middle school system so could stretch to high school.

My friend has girls around 5-8 years older and she just said no to all the requests till they were older. But I think it was a bit easier to say no even 5 years ago for the tween age. Basic Nokia when they went to middle school.

It would be good if there was a simple smartphone with social media blocked. I would want maps, general Internet browser, transport apps, and a WiFi messaging app if texts and calls aren't going through or I need to send a picture. DS needed maps and transport apps long before 14!

You are so right.

And it's quite hard as a parent to take the moral high ground on phones if you're constantly using yours.

They will find ways around it if it's do as I say not as I do.

Yes, all good points.

I very much agree with no social media for under 14s and very restricted internet usage but I just think you will still then have the same problems for young adults.

What would be nice would be for social media to be better regulated and it all to just be a bit more optional for everyone. It should not be the case that a company can refuse payment via any means other than an app.

I don't think the solution will ever be for groups of parents to try and gang up together because there will always be those who won't and it's still an issue at 14 or 16 when those still quite young people get access.

My older daughter does have a phone and she uses it for music. How even would you listen to music now as a teen if not on a phone on an app? Any ideas? She laughs at my 'old' cd player.

He's made a website for the book which has a bit if the data

jonathanhaidt.com/anxious-generation/

I've also just joined this and a WhatsApp group via Jonathan Haidt stuff

I've just got his book on audio

I always remember Molly Russell too. I don't think she would have died without instagram pushing self harming content on her relentlessly.

But the big tech companies are doing a good job of making it impossible not to have a smartphone.

I'm involved with this group: https://smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk/

I think the pledge comes from the same group. The idea being the more children in your child's class/year don't have smartphones, the easier it will be to resist, so a critical mass is needed.

The start of this article by Jonathan Haidt (the leading voice at the mo on the harms of smartphones and social media) made me think of gender questioning children. www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/books/2024/mar/24/the-anxious-generation-jonathan-haidt-book-extract-instagram-tiktok-smartphones-social-media-screens

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/smartphones-children-mental-health-teenagers-depression-b2517030.html

The article above talks about a new book by Jonathan Haidt who believes the uptick in mental health problems is linked to smartphones.

I actually think we need to look at adults too though. Not just children. It's virtually impossible to live in the world now without a smartphone. I'm definitely worse off since I got one, but I have to now because I need an app for work an app to make bank payments online, an app for the NHS, an app for the school. An app for fucking everything.

I don't want my smartphone! I don't want all these apps but I can't live a normal life without them even though my smartphone definitely makes my life worse. The time I've missed reading a book or going for a walk or a run because I'm scrolling on my phone instead.

My poor elderly parents are finding life more and more difficult because they just can't cope with smartphones, apps or having to do everything online. They are really excluded in so many ways because of it (and it adds to the work me and my siblings have to do to keep them funcitioning, whilst making them feel ever more diminished and incapable).

It seems like a very good initiative to me - and a sensible approach to get parents together in groups to do this together. It can only work if you defuse peer pressure in some way, and create a community around it.

I think this campaign has been around a bit longer - they've been piloting the approach with groups of parents.

It'll sound a bit daft, but I didn't know you could actually still get mobile phones that weren't smartphones.

I think Esther Ghey's campaign is to limit the apps available on smartphones:

'We urge mobile phone companies to take responsibility for safeguarding children against such risks associated with technology use. We propose an age limit for smartphone usage and stricter controls over access to social media apps and unsupervised internet use.
The Government says the Online Safety Act protects children, but I don't think it goes far enough.
According to Ofcom, 49% of 8-11 year olds have a smartphone. This early exposure can lead them into dangerous territories online if left unchecked. Smartphone use in young people has also been shown to impact mood, increasing the risk of depression and anxiety.'

https://peaceandminduk.org/campaign/make-phone-companies-more-responsible-for-childrens-online-welfare/

This is a great idea. Is it linked in any way to what Esther Ghey (Brianna Ghey's mum) is doing?

Although I'm on a different page to her (I assume) when it comes to the right care pathway for children who experience distress in relation to their gender identity belief, I've found her to be a very clear and valuable voice on this topic. I've been impressed at the strength she has shown and the focus she is putting on it.

This is a good idea. The more parents within peer groups do this, the better it will work.

There may be alternatives for safety anyway.

Thanks, OP. Definitely worth thinking about.