St Albans, the potential trendsetter for the UK, is considering a ban on smartphones for children under the age of 14. In an unprecedented move, headteachers from the St Albans Primary Schools Consortium have come together to write a joint letter to parents and carers, urging them to hold off on purchasing smartphones for their young ones. With the support of 20 out of 24 primary school headteachers in the city, this letter aims to influence the wider culture of St Albans.
The letter encourages parents to delay giving their children smartphones until they reach the age of 14, suggesting alternative options such as text/call phones if necessary. Furthermore, the headteachers have committed to promoting their own schools as smartphone-free environments. They believe that by working together across St Albans, they can join the growing movement in the country to change the norm of giving smartphones to children at a young age. The letter also expresses support for the Smartphone Free Childhood campaign, a grassroots movement dedicated to preserving a smartphone-free childhood.
Justine Elbourne-Cload, the executive head of Cunningham Hill Schools, has raised concerns about the negative impact smartphones can have on children’s mental health. She highlighted issues such as children being exposed to inappropriate material through WhatsApp groups and unsupervised social media usage among five to seven-year-olds. Additionally, the constant connectivity to peers prevents children from escaping the pressures of their social circles. Ms Elbourne-Cload hopes that in the near future, it will be shocking to see a child under the age of 11 with a smartphone.
St Albans, a city in England, may set a precedent by banning smartphones for children. The idea is to create a norm where very few, if any, children have smartphones. Instead, they would use old Nokia brick phones, which were widely used in the past. The goal is to roll back the age of smartphone usage and address the potential negative consequences.
However, this policy has faced criticism from secondary school students who rely on smartphones for accessing their homework through apps. Additionally, some students depend on smartphone apps for purchasing bus tickets, which could be problematic if the ban is implemented.
Earlier this year, the government released new guidance aimed at reducing smartphone use in schools. Education secretary Gillian Keegan presented various options for bans, such as leaving devices at home, collecting them by teachers, or keeping them out of sight in bags.
Esther Ghey, a 37-year-old mother, has been actively campaigning to limit phone use among teenagers. Her daughter, Brianna Ghey, was tragically murdered by two teenagers who planned her death using WhatsApp and Snapchat. One of the murderers, Scarlett Jenkinson, even used a special browser to view real-life acts of torture and murder on the dark web.
Overall, the proposed ban on smartphones for children in St Albans has sparked both support and opposition. While it aims to address potential risks associated with smartphone usage, it also raises concerns about the practicality of such a ban, particularly for students who rely on smartphones for educational purposes.
