With a general election confirmed for the 4th of July, we want to ensure that all party candidates know the strength of public feeling around the harm children face when using smartphones and social media.
You can help us keep this issue in candidates’ minds in several ways. We have put together some guidance to support you in calling for significant change for children in this election period.
You can start by raising this as an issue with your local candidates on the doorstep if they visit you or are campaigning locally.
Please also take the time to write to your MP and local candidates and raise this as an issue with them. MP’s do listen to their constituents, so please make your voice heard!
You can use our attached template letter to write to your MP.
You can find the names of the candidates in your area here: Who Can I Vote For? And your MP here: Find your MP – MPs and Lords – UK Parliament
Another powerful way of raising this with local MPs or candidates is to request a meeting with them – ask to meet with them now, or if they can’t, ask them to agree to meet with them within two months of being elected. Perhaps you get a group of a few parents together to meet them?
Start by telling them why you care about this matter and why it is essential.
Ask them where they stand on this issue and whether they will raise it in parliament and ask them to share the pledge badge on social media.
Key questions to ask your MP and answers for them:
Are they aware of social media and smartphones' harm to children and young people? Do they recognise that it is not just the content that is a problem but the “addictive by design” smartphone itself?
- See HERE for examples.
Do they support a legal ban on smartphones in all schools up to the end of GCSEs (Key Stage 4)?
- The current advice is guidance is not legal, and only 11% of schools have implemented a complete ban.[1]
- The Government’s most recent National Behaviour Survey found that 38% of teachers and 57% of pupils said that some, most or all lessons had been disrupted by mobile phones in the previous week.[2]
- Schools that ban smartphones entirely are more than twice as likely to be rated outstanding and deliver grades between 1-2 higher at GCSE than those without bans.[3]
- Countries such as France, China, Italy and some US states such as NY and Florida have already banned smartphones in schools.[4]
- There are always other options for children who need smartphones for health reasons; exceptions for medical reasons could be at the school’s discretion.
Do they support a licensing regime to create a new market for child-appropriate devices for those under 16 (until the end of GCSEs)?
This is not about purchasing but about usage. Restricted devices and apps will be those that meet narrow safety and appropriateness criteria set in law (e.g. supporting only non-addictive functionalities), the more detailed specifications for which can be overseen by an independent kite marking authority which prioritises children’s wellbeing, such as the Children’s Commissioner. Incentives, including VAT, can be used to catalyse this as an attractive new market for manufacturers and distributors and as a cost-effective ‘healthier device choice’ for parents.
The Education Select Committee endorsed the above framework model in their latest report.
And if they don’t support this important call for change to protect children and support families, then why not?
Are they aware of how much support there is for action on smartphones amongst voters?
A Parentkind survey in March 2024 showed that
- 58% of parents support the idea of introducing a ban on smartphones for those under 16, while 33% of parents oppose the idea.
- Parents of primary school-age children are “terrified”, as 77% back a ban on smartphones for children under 16 years old.
- 8 in 10 (83%) parents say smartphones harm children.
The Online Safety Act is not enough and will not protect children fully.
The Online Safety Act was passed into law in October 2023 with the promise that children would be safer online. Protecting children in the online space is essential and overdue, but based on our research, our conversations with technology experts and, most importantly, the experiences of so many parents, we are certain that the Act is, at best, only a very partial solution, unable to protect children from the obvious and present risks of smartphone addiction, the mechanisms tech companies have for controlling children’s attention and the psychological harm inflicted on our children via social media.
Even the protection it will achieve will not be in place until 2026. The Education Select Committee raised concerns when they said, “Although we welcome attempts by Ofcom to make platforms safer for children who use them, it is clear that the entire system surrounding the digital age of consent and how it is verified is not fit for purpose. Until there are robust age verification measures used on social media platforms, the digital age of consent will have little to no impact on protecting the data of underage users.”
Education alone is not the answer.
Education is essential, but it has yet to have the breakthrough impact it should, given how the digital literacy programme in schools has been rolled out over the last decade.
What are we calling for?
Keep smartphones permanently out of schools: Legally prohibit smartphone use by adults and children in schools and early-year settings — this is currently only advisory guidance.
A licencing regime to create a new market for child-appropriate devices: we propose a licensing system that allows for the sale, supply and marketing to kids up to Key Stage 4 age (i.e. end of GCSEs) of restricted devices and applications. Restricted devices and apps will be those that meet narrow safety and appropriateness criteria set in law (e.g. supporting only non-addictive functionalities), the more detailed specifications for which can be overseen by an independent kite marking authority which prioritises children’s wellbeing, such as the Children’s Commissioner. Incentives, including VAT, can be used to catalyse this as an attractive new market for manufacturers and distributors and as a cost-effective ‘healthier choice’ for parents.
Mandate tobacco-style health warnings: Prominent warnings about excessive screen time and the addictive nature of (unrestricted) smartphones displayed on packaging and advertisements to increase parental awareness of the harms of use by children and of use by adults in the presence of children. The broader aim here is to help seed a new social acceptability mindset around children and smartphone use.
