Will calls to ban smartphones for children be answered?

The chief executive of Parentkind, Jason Elsom, 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.’

Not only are symptoms of poor mental health on the rise amongst young people, but children are also being presented with polarising and misogynistic content during their formative years.

Exposure to these narratives has profound implications for the future of society, despite social media sites claiming they have deployed age-restricted content limitations.

Campaigners for children’s rights point out that these platforms are inherently flawed in their design. Algorithms continue to push inappropriate content to younger audiences, while also failing in flagging and removing hateful comments.

As a result, officials have encouraged limiting young people’s screen time during school hours, at the very least.

Back in February, schools in England were advised by governments to disallow the use of mobile phones throughout the day.

This advice was not written into law, but was merely a measure to create distance between young people and their devices.

Though government officials recognise the immense ‘educational and social benefits’ that stem from modern technology, it is evident that it can come at the expense of keeping young people out of harm’s way.

We’ll have to wait and see if the government’s advice is written into official law, but it’s clear that most parents will welcome it if so.