Should smartphones be banned in all schools in Wales?

[ZeeLoo]

Hello!

I am part of a group of concerned parents and carers in Wales which is urging Welsh Government to ban smartphones during the school day in Wales, with exemptions for exceptional circumstances.

Our petition, launched by members of the national grassroots campaign group Smartphone Free Childhood, has already garnered over 2500 signatures, highlighting widespread concern about the devastating impact of smartphones on children’s mental health, wellbeing and behaviour.

The campaign comes amid mounting evidence, largely unknown to the public, underscoring the profound detrimental effects of smartphone use on young people. Shockingly, over half of 13 to 17-year-olds have been exposed to real-life violence, including graphic killings and sexual assaults, as well as hardcore pornography. Other dangers include cyberbullying, sextortion, grooming, sexting, extremist content, hate speech, suicide ideation and self-harm advice.

The first generation to grow up with smartphones is now showing signs of deteriorating mental health, with earlier exposure linked to worse outcomes. Studies reveal a direct correlation between social media use and increased rates of anxiety and depression among teens, particularly girls. Alarming statistics show that one in five teens use YouTube "almost constantly”. Smartphones also contribute to reduced attention spans. A 2021 study by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights found that smartphones fundamentally alter brain development, impairing children's ability to concentrate. Additionally, time spent on devices detracts from opportunities to play, explore, and interact —essential activities for developing vital life skills. Since the advent of smartphones in 2010, the average daily time teens spend with friends has dropped by 65%.

Please sign our petition if you live in Wales, thank you!
SIGN HERE

I think school kids should be able to have their phone just not switched on……not that I live in wales anyway……i our high school mobile signal stops as soon as you enter school premises…..whether you a child or teacher……not sure why other school don’t do something like this

Signed

I'm not Welsh but just wanted to say great campaign and all the best with it.

Have you thought about how this will effect rural households in Wales, when kids have to get buses/taxis to and from school? They will have no way of contacting home on journeys that can take as much as an hour.
I'm with you on no smartphones in schools, but I think that children should be allowed to contact caregivers when journeys home can be long and complicated.

Signed

Live in Wales, signed.

Not all mobile phones are smartphones, nor do they need to be. Something which many seem to forget.

I’m another one who lives rurally, having a phone is really handy. There are rules about when it can be used in school. Homework goes up on teams/ sharepoint for example. Also some reference material and if you were doing group work you could collaborate on phones.

Some children seem to have no boundaries though. You don’t just hand them a phone and not check it. You can’t access adult content on his network provider for example and I give permission for suitable apps. So no VPNs to get around rules etc Set screen time limits and a sleep period. Phone charges up with an adult overnight.

Why make blanket rules for everyone when for a lot of teens it’s not an issue? It’s like they are being punished because people can’t be bothered to parent.

Studies done straight after covid (and its long term effects on social behaviour) blaming mobile phones for the reduction in social behaviour.

A lot of the studies were done in India where mobile phone usage is different ... most schools do not allow them.

Smart phones are a tool. We teach our kids how to use them. They are also part of the future, here to stay... until the next tech evolution... learning to use them well should be part of our children's education. Instead of putting our heads in the sand and banning them from schools - where sometimes they are needed, why not educate on their uses... some kids have their bus ticket, travel pass, need them for getting to and fro. Others for life enhancing apps... blood sugar tracking , etc etc
Don't demonise the tech.

Hello!

Thank you so much to those who signed the petition and for all of your replies.

‘When you hand your child a smartphone, you don’t give them access to the internet, you give the internet access to your child’. (Can’t remember who said that about all the predators online but should make you think…..)

Anyway, I am just getting over covid so have a bit of a saggy brain right now but will attempt to answer any points raised. (Just finished this and sorry it’s long - if you have don’t have time to read this reply, I highly recommend you listen to the two ** links at the end when you have some free time (Even if it’s the first 5 minutes of the first podcast). It could just change your mind about Smartphones)

@Kitkat1523
That’s a good idea for sure - some schools do that here in Wales and some are using Yondr pouches.

@GlassRat
Thanks for your reply. We are only proposing that phones are not used during the school day - this doesn’t include the journeys to and from school as we are fully aware that some kids have their bus passes etc on their devices and that parents use the tracking features on smartphones.

@SemperIdem
Thanks - and totally agree. We only ever use the word smartphone as we are not against flip phones/brick phones/dumb phones although I personally don’t think kids shouldn be sitting on these at break and lunch times either.

@Lovelysummerdays
Thanks for your reply. I agree with you that for lots of teens, smartphones are not an issue, but overwhelmingly - they are, sadly. These devices/apps are so highly addictive (tech companies apparently hire psychologists and neurologists to make the apps as addictive as possible) and most adults find they can’t control their smartphone use either, so not sure how we expect kids to (You only have to look around you on a daily basis to see most people walking around like zombies on their phones, pushing babies in buggies whilst on their phones (crossing roads even), sitting in restaurants on their phones instead of talking to whomever they’re with etc)

@BeyondMyWits
Thanks for your reply.
I agree, they are a tool and that’s how they should be used (in fact, they can be a brilliant tool) - but they’re not being used that way unfortunately (I read somewhere that many gen Zs are too anxious to actually make phone calls...the irony!). Some kids are spending 15 hours a day on their devices….it’s madness. And I know they are a part of the future but ultimately, this part of the future was created (and is controlled by) by some very rich and powerful people for them to get even richer. I don’t think we’re putting our heads in the sand - they are not needed in a school environment. Sure they can be handy at times but children have coped without them at school for hundreds of years.

And we are well aware about their use in controlling some kids’ health issues - that’s why we say with ‘exemptions for exceptional circumstances’. And as I said above, kids would be able to have them on the journey to and from school.

Recently, my child had sports day and the school hires a really great indoor sports arena with a spectators area - however, whilst the kids were competing, the others were sat there on their phones……..

In another case, a year 6 kid went up to the high school for the transition day and at break time, had no one to talk to as every child had their smartphone out…..

Children should be socialising - vital for ‘wiring’ their brains and for learning many life lessons.

This kind of thing is what initially inspired me to start this campaign. Then, when I read about how children are sharing images of people getting skinned alive for example, and that boys are watching XXX hardcore porn (most boys age 12 will have encountered it), that girls' mental health is at an all-time low, and all the other really truly horrendous stuff, I thought that I had to do something.

Most parents will put parental controls on their kid’s phone, but a/ these are not foolproof and b/ there will always be some kids without the controls and they are free to share whatever they like.

Thank you. I hope this made sense.. and again, sorry it's so long.

https://smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk/

If you're interested in reading more, here are some really useful links.

• *How Smartphones Are Rewiring Our Brains https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/feel-better-live-more-with-dr-rangan-chatterjee/id1333552422?i=1000657050717 

BBC Yorkshire asks 29 Students to try to reduce their screen time
https://www.facebook.com/reel/782090210762050

UK Parliament: Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/203/education-committee/news/201715/stronger-guidance-and-controls-needed-to-protect-children-from-screen-time-education-committee-finds/#:~:text=The%20Committee%20also%20concludes%20that,physical%20activity%20for%20older%20ones.
Related to:
‘Even our schools don’t provide a safe haven’ Miriam Cates, MP
Westminster Hall debate: General Debate: Impact of smartphones and social media on children
https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/3e463ce6-15a2-4ecd-b033-5a55cafc20c5 

BMJ - A precautionary public health response is needed (Paywall - full scanned article can be emailed to you)
https://www.bmj.com/content/385/bmj-2024-079828 

Beheadings, porn, abuse and anxiety
https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/dangerous-online-use-6405648-Jun2024/ 

Parentkind Poll
https://www.parentkind.org.uk/research-and-policy/parent-research/research-library/school-education-policies/parent-poll-on-smartphones-march-2024 

Secondary school heads urge delay in smartphone use
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4nnp7qlxggo

UNESCO
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/smartphones-school-only-when-they-clearly-support-learning 

Smartphone ban for kids 'worth considering' - MPs
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjmm0zgx9zno#:~:text=The%20next%20government%20should%20consider,dangers%22%20posed%20to%20children%20online.
** BBC World Service ‘Ireland’s phone-free town’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct5mss 

Boys asking teachers how to choke girls during sex
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnkkqyek17zo 

Mobile Phones in School - Guidance for schools on prohibiting the use of mobile phones through the school day
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65cf5f2a4239310011b7b916/Mobilephonesinschoolsguidance.pdf