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LONDON — As evidence mounts that smartphone use is linked to mental health harms in children, a grassroots group in the United Kingdom is supporting parents who deny smartphones to their children.
A childhood without smartphones, Founded in February by Daisy Greenwell and Clare Fernyhough, the company sets up various group chats for parents across the UK and has added more than 60,000 members in a matter of weeks, according to its website.
Interest in the campaign stems from concerns about the normalization of smartphone use among children. According to research, by the age of 12, 97% of children in the UK have a mobile phone Ofcomthe UK government-approved regulatory body for the use of communications services
Meanwhile, in the United States, 42% of children own a smartphone by age 10, rising to 91% by age 14, according to a 2021 report Common sense report The project surveyed 1,306 young people in the United States between the ages of 8 and 18.
In an increasingly networked world, parents provide their children with smartphones for a variety of reasons, including entertainment purposes, tracking their location and keeping in touch with them when they leave the house. However, research and experts stress that this opens the door to social media and possible mental health harms.
SFC aims to unite parents who do not give their children smartphones to alleviate the peer pressure and isolation they may feel.
Its success has seen it expand internationally, with groups in the United States, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Canada, South Africa and several other countries.
Just days after the SFC campaign was launched, the then Conservative-led UK government— New guidelines issued banning smartphone use At school and during breaks.
Some places in the U.S. — such as Los Angeles, Florida and Indiana — have already issued ban On the school phone.
Other independent organizations are forming around the world, including Austin-based Wait until the 8th, unplug in Canada, time has not come yet in Mexico, and Head-to-head alliance In Australia.
However, some academics and scientists remain unconvinced that there is a link between smartphones and poor mental health. Psychology Professor Christopher Ferguson Earlier this year, he told NBC News that society often reacts negatively to new technologies and their potential harms, from television to video games and, most recently, artificial intelligence.
Mental health issues on the rise?
The earlier young people get smartphones, the worse their mental health will be Sapien Lab Research The findings were published last year.
The study used data from 27,969 adolescents aged 18-24 collected between January and April 2023 from 41 countries in North America, Europe, Latin America, Oceania, South Asia and Africa.
Research shows that about 74% of female respondents who got their first smartphone at age 6 reported feeling pain or struggle. However, this dropped to 61% for those who bought their first smartphone at age 10, and to 52% for those who bought their first smartphone at age 15 .
For male respondents, the proportion feeling distressed or struggling dropped from 42% among those who got their first smartphone at age 6 to 36% among those who got their first smartphone at age 18.
Young people who got their first smartphones at an older age reported better mental health, including fewer problems with suicidal thoughts and aggressive emotions, and fewer problems with disconnection from reality.
The findings are mobilizing parents to take action, said Zach Rausch, a research scientist at NYU Stern School of Business and lead researcher on Jonathan Haidt’s New York Times bestseller “The Anxious Generation.”
“The massive move into a mobile-based childhood is really harmful to young people,” Rausch told CNBC Make It.
“Research is ongoing and the evidence of harm is getting stronger every year,” he added. “The lid of the box has been opened and parents are seeing other parents talking about it, so we’re seeing this wave of parents gathering around Together.”
Rausch said the combination of smartphones and social media is particularly deadly for young people.
this British Millennium Cohort StudyThe project tracked the lives of around 19,000 young people born in the UK between 2000 and 2002 and found a strong correlation between social media use and symptoms of depression, including low self-esteem, online harassment and poor body image. .
“When smartphones and social media really come together, it creates this whole new way of interacting,” Rausch said.
“So now you have social media in your pocket on your smartphone, and it’s designed to maximize the time you spend on your phone… It’s built in a way that it’s inherently addictive and trying to engage you.
Last few years, YuanThe parent company of social media platforms Instagram and Facebook has been criticized by lawmakers and parents for exposing children and teenagers to harmful content on its platforms, including various allegations of child sexual exploitation.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in turn, called on lawmakers to issue more guidance and regulations to help address harmful online content. Under mounting pressure, the tech giant announced in January 2024 that it would limit the types of content that teenage users of Instagram and Facebook could see, including self-harm, eating disorders and nudity.
Some technology companies are trying to create kid-friendly smartphone and social media experiences. Google launches YouTube Kids In 2015, a standalone YouTube-like app with kid-friendly content and parental controls.
iPhone manufacturer apple A new website was recently launched to promote the Apple Watch to kids too young to use a smartphone. The device will be managed by the parent’s iPhone so they can stay connected with their child.
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