Majority of Parents Want Smartphones Banned for Under-16s: Poll

A pupil uses his mobile phone for research during an English lesson at the Ridings Federation Winterbourne International Academy in Winterbourne near Bristol, England, on Feb. 26, 2015. Matt Cardy/Getty Images

A majority of parents think the government should ban smartphones for children under 16 years of age, a poll has found.

The charity Parentkind published the results from its poll on Thursday, showing that 58 percent of parents would support the idea of introducing the ban, with 33 percent opposing.

While a majority backed the ban, the poll revealed a contrast in support between parents of primary and secondary school-aged children. More than three in four (77 percent) parents of younger children backed the ban, compared to only 16 percent of parents of older children.

The findings come after the government gave schools in England non-statutory guidance on prohibiting the use of mobile phones during school hours, including at break times.

Jason Elsom, chief executive of Parentkind, said: “Society has sleepwalked into a position where children are addicted to harmful ‘electronic drugs’ and have no escape from their digital dealers.

“We are starting to understand the harms of social media and the unrestricted gateway smartphones provide to vile online content but it seems parents already get it.”

“Most parents want the government to help them overcome the peer pressure that leads to their children needing mobile phones by banning these devices and a huge majority of parents of primary school children back a ban because they are terrified of their children becoming ensnared by a smartphone as they get older,” Mr. Elsom added.

The online survey commissioned by Parentkind was conducted by WeThink, who polled 2,496 parents in England between Feb. 19 and March 4.

Parentkind has called for all political parties to put a smartphone ban for under-16s in their manifestos.

‘No Escape From Abuse’

In other findings from the poll, 83 percent of parents said that they thought smartphones were harmful to children and young people, with 93 percent also saying they thought social media was harmful to youngsters.

Some 87 percent were concerned their children might access harmful content online.

Parents were also concerned about online bullying, with 89 percent fearing that children face “no escape from abuse.” More than four in five (87 percent) said they were worried their children might access harmful content online.

More than two-thirds (69 percent) of respondents said limiting children’s access to smartphones would make their lives easier as parents, while 53 percent said they felt pressured to give their children smartphones before they would have preferred.

In response to the poll, a government spokesperson said: “The educational and social benefits of technology are immense, but this should not come at the expense of children’s safety. That is why we issued guidance on banning smartphones in schools last month to support teachers and keep schools as a place of learning.

“The majority of social media sites say they do not allow under-13s. Once implemented the Online Safety Act will require platforms to enforce their age limits and protect children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content.”

‘Child Public Health Concern’

The Safescreens campaign group said the survey “should send a message to Big Tech and government.”

Director of Safescreens Arabella Skinner said in a statement that “the overwhelming majority of parents agree with the US Surgeon General’s conclusion that smartphones and social media are harmful. Smartphones are addictive by design — this is why Safescreens.org is calling for urgent regulation to make phones safe for children and young people.”

Dr. Rebecca Foljambe, an NHS GP, called the issue a “child public health concern,” saying, “Our children are not safe on smartphones under the age of 16.”

“None of us are truly ‘safe’ on them over that age, but fooling ourselves we can educate young children to self-moderate an addictive-by-design device, whilst simultaneously holding that device in their hands, and at an age when their brains are least able to self-regulate is a negligent notion,” Dr. Foljambe added.

‘Addictive by Design’

The Safescreens campaign is run by children’s rights group UsForThem, which is calling on the government to introduce a framework for selling and marketing smartphones to children in order to safeguard their well-being.

Ms. Skinner told The Epoch Times last week that “phones are addictive by design,” adding that for the social media companies, “That’s where you get data, that’s where you get eyes, that’s where you get adverts.”

The campaign group is also calling for smartphones specifically designed for children which are pre-loaded with suitable and useful apps and with automatic blocks for inappropriate content.

“You need to be able to access the bus ticket app because you can’t get on the bus otherwise ... parents want their children to be able to call them,” Ms. Skinner explained.

“Technology should work for us, rather than us working for technology,” she added.

The campaign group does not believe that the Online Safety Bill can protect children from phone addiction.

“It’s a very unwieldy [law]—it’s enormous ... And it causes big issues around the freedom of speech problems that we all are aware of. But it doesn’t solve the issue of protecting our children. It’s not strong enough,” Ms. Skinner told The Epoch Times.

PA Media and Rachel Roberts contributed to this report.