Parents around the world have started working together to keep their kids off smartphones.
Early and excessive smartphone use can cause debilitating physical and mental health problems. In his book, The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt links premature smartphone use to lack of sleep, exposure to addictive and inappropriate content, and problems with social development.
Most parents probably know about these risks, but few feel they can shield their children from them.
Smartphones are ubiquitous — even among kids. A 2021 survey from Common Sense, a digital safety non-profit, found 91% of American kids receive a smartphone by the time they turn 14.
No parent wants their kid to be the odd one out.
Several online groups hope to solve this problem by connecting families who want their kids to be smartphone-free. When parents don’t have to hold the line alone, combatting the influence of smartphones feels a whole lot easier.
One of the most popular groups, U.K.-based Smartphone Free Childhood, only started in February, when moms Daisy Greenwell and Clare Fernyhough started a group chat for parents looking to ditch smartphones.
U.K. parents struggle with the same problem as their American counterparts — smartphones are everywhere. A survey conducted by Ofcom, a government-sponsored communications company, found 97% of children across the pond have a smartphone by age 12.
This early smartphone use inspired Greenwell and Fernyhough to link up.
“I was chatting to another mum at our school recently and she told me that her 11-year-old son has a smartphone, as do a third of the class in year 6,” Greenwell wrote in an Instagram post that later went viral. “She hasn’t got her other 8-year-old child one yet because they haven’t asked.”
She continues:
Greenwell and Fernyhough theorized that uniting like-minded families would make smartphones easier for parents to resist, and help kids feel less isolated. Thousands of other families agreed. The moms’ chat filled with 1,000 members in just 24 hours.
Today, Smartphone Free Childhood sponsors more than 60 regional chats in the U.K. for an estimated 100,000 parents. It also offers international chats for people in Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and the U.S.
To learn more about Smartphone Free Childhood, and access free resources for parents and teachers fighting premature smartphone use, click here.
Earlier this year, Haidt called Smartphone Free Childhood “the beginning of the global tipping point in the fight back against a phone-based childhood.”
But its far from the first — or only — group helping parents get connected.
Wait Until 8th started in 2017 with a group of parents who pledged to not get their kids smartphones until 8th grade.
Today, Wait Until 8th connects families from the same school and grade to make the same commitment. Once ten families agree to the terms, the pledge gets logged on the organization’s website.
Right now, 60,000 families in 34 states and Washington, D.C. are participating in active pledges.
Wait Until 8th also offers parents tips and tricks for keeping homes smart-phone free, including smartphone alternatives and questions parents should ask themselves before buying their child a smartphone.
To learn more about Wait Until 8th, and access their free resources and blog posts, click here.
The Daily Citizen lauds these groups for offering parents a practical solution to what often feels like an intractable problem. We hope their tenacity offers you and your family encouragement and inspiration while working through your own smartphone boundaries.
Keep up the good work!
Additional Articles and Resources
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Surgeon General Recommends Warning on Social Media Platforms
Four Ways to Protect Your Kids from Bad Tech, from Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt
Social Psychologist Finds Smartphones and Social Media Harm Kids in These Four Ways
Teen Boys Falling Prey to Financial Sextortion — Here’s What Parents Can Do
Meta Takes Steps to Prevent Kids from Sexting
Horrifying Instagram Investigation Indicts Modern Parenting
‘The Dirty Dozen List’ — Corporations Enable and Profit from Sexual Exploitation
‘Big Tech’ Device Designs Dangerous for Kids, Research Finds
Survey Finds Teens Use Social Media More Than Four Hours Per Day — Here’s What Parents Can Do
The Harmful Effects of a Screen-Filled Culture on Kids
Social Media Age Restriction — Which States Have Them and Why They’re So Hard to Pass
Plugged in Parent’s Guide to Today’s Technology
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