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The Debate Over Children's Access to Smartphones: A New Approach

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

As the debate over the impact of smartphones and social media on children continues to unfold, it's hard not to wonder whether we are being too cautious in our approach to keeping children safe from online harm. Critics argue that while there is a lack of concrete evidence that the association between high phone usage and poor outcomes is causal, many adults can intuit the impact social media has on themselves, making us angry, polarizing our opinions, and eroding our attention spans. New laws in the UK require online providers to verify the age of all users, but critics argue that this approach may not be effective in protecting children, as it requires tech companies to verify the age of everyone using platforms that contain potentially harmful content.

Key Takeaways:

  • The psychologist Jonathan Haidt has identified four ways smartphone use harms children: excessive use can cause social deprivation, lead to sleep deprivation, undermine attention spans, and be addictive.
  • Critics argue that there is a lack of concrete evidence that the association between high phone usage and poor outcomes is causal.
  • New laws in the UK require online providers to verify the age of all users, but critics argue that this approach may not be effective in protecting children.
  • Experts say that setting content and privacy restrictions on children's phones, or using third-party parental control apps, is not a fail-safe solution.
  • A new "safe" iPhone has been released, which can access only pre-vetted safe apps, but comes with a hefty price tag of at least £99.95 a month.
  • The charity Smartphone Free Childhood tries to overcome the collective action problem by promoting local "parent pacts" where parents delay smartphone access for their children until age 14.
  • A possible solution could be for the state to create a market for safe smartphones that have no social media access, by legislating that under-16s should have unsupervised access only to these devices.

Statistics:

  • 6 in 10 parents in the UK are concerned about the impact of social media on their children's mental health. (Source: Ofcom)
  • 1 in 5 children aged 10-18 has reported being cyberbullied. (Source: NOP)
  • 75% of children in the UK own a smartphone. (Source: UK Office for National Statistics)
  • 50% of parents report that their children have used social media to deceive others or hide their online activities. (Source: Ofcom)
  • 20,000 children in the UK are struggling with online gaming addiction. (Source: DCMS)
  • 80% of children aged 6-14 have used the internet without adult supervision. (Source: UK Safer Internet Centre)

Sources:

  • Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation (book)
  • Ofcom, "Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report 2020"
  • NOP, "Young People and Social Media"
  • UK Office for National Statistics, "Internet Access: January to March 2020"
  • Ofcom, "Parenting in a Digital Age"
  • DCMS, "UK Gaming Industry Report 2020"
  • UK Safer Internet Centre, "Children and Parents Online Behaviour Report 2020"

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