30 May 2024
A campaign calling for a ban on smartphones for young teenagers has gained momentum since St Albans primary school headteachers gave their support to the initiative.
The St Albans Primary Schools Consortium – which brings together 20 out of 24 primary headteachers from across the district – asked parents not to let their children have a smartphone before they are 14 in an open letter sent out to all schools last week.
The Smartphone-Free Childhood WhatsApp movement, which includes groups based in various St Albans schools, has been calling on restrictions since its launch earlier this year, and now the Education Select Committee has urged the next Government to consider proposals to ban smartphones for under-16s within its first year in office.
The group of MPs said the risks of increased screen time for children and young people significantly outweighed its benefits, and without urgent action more children could be put at risk of being exposed to inappropriate content.
With just over a month to go before the General Election, we asked candidates running for the constituencies of St Albans and Harpenden and Berkhamsted for their views on the issue.
Simon Grover, who is the St Albans Green candidate, said: “When you weigh up the pros and cons of under-14s having a smart phone, as opposed to a simple text/call one, or no phone at all, the case against seems strong. The potential for negative effects on development, mental health, dependency, privacy, security and exposure to harmful content, is very significant, and any one of these effects can in some cases be extremely serious.
“The thornier issue is probably how you make this change. A ban in legislation seems heavy handed and probably wouldn’t work as parents can still supply phones to their children. But expecting parents to be fully responsible for this also seems unfair and unworkable. It may be that a policy set by school would help, combined with public information campaigns.
“There would then be social pressure to resist giving these phones to younger children, and an understanding that the same rule applies to everyone, at least in the same school.
“The issue of regulating big tech is another one, and somewhere that governments do need to step in. A government’s first role is to defend their citizens, and this must include defending them from the pernicious influence of global corporations that are a rule unto themselves.”
Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for St Albans, Daisy Cooper, said: “It’s really exciting and intriguing to see this bold initiative from St Albans schools and parents, and if I’m fortunate enough to be re-elected on Thursday 4th July, I look forward to meeting with them as a matter of priority.
“None of us can turn a blind eye to the enormous damage that access to apps on smartphones has caused for some young people, triggering an explosion of mental ill health and in some cases a 24/7 hour culture of bullying or access to inappropriate and harmful online material.
“I’ve heard from many school staff, parents, and students that they want their young children to have access to phones but not necessarily smartphones, or they want access to smartphones with restrictions on apps.
“The broader debate opens up questions about the line between parental responsibility and the responsibility of schools. It’s also important that any moves to ban the use of smartphones under a certain age don’t let the smartphone manufacturers and social media platforms off the hook: even if smartphone use is restricted, it can’t be used as an excuse by them not to make smartphones safe for everyone else.
“I’m interested to see how the debate and this initiative plays out and taking any lessons learned into Parliament if I’m privileged enough to be re-elected.”
St Albans Conservative candidate James Spencer said in principle he agreed with St Albans heads that there should be a ban on smartphones.
“We are in the midst of a mental health crisis among young people and to a great extent this is being exacerbated by smartphones.
“As with any ban, the first question is how is going to be policed. The easiest way would be to start with a total ban on school campuses. This could come in the form of clear guidance from the DfE. I would also see a role for Ofsted in monitoring how rigorously schools are enforcing the ban.
“The Government has made great strides in protecting children online. The new Online Safety Act for example takes a zero-tolerance approach to protecting children ensuring social media platforms are held responsible for all the content on their sites. Failing to comply with the act will land social media companies with significant fines (potentially in the billions) and could even result in their bosses facing a custodial sentence.
“With regards to big tech, I believe there is definitely more we could do particularly with advertising standards. Just as there are advertising rules on HFSS [high in fat, salt and sugar] foods this should be expanded to cover smartphones.”
Zara Layne, Labour’s candidate for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, said: “I am pleased that the question of children’s use of mobile phones (specifically smartphones) is under considered scrutiny. There has been a marked (52%) increase in children’s screen time since the Covid-19 pandemic and as a mother of two young girls, I am acutely aware of how pervasive mobile phone use is amongst the younger generations, the access this may give children to unsuitable content, and the sorts of addictive practices they may instill.
“That being said, our children are growing up in a technological context that we, as adults have not experienced. Used appropriately, these devices can offer significant opportunities for communication and creative development. Any measures taken, but be done so in a considered way.
“The Education Select Committee recently published its report, ’Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing’ and found that for young children, the risks of screen time significantly outweigh the benefits.
“I do support a restriction on the use of smartphones by under 14s and believe schools should be granted powers to take measures to ensure internet-enabled devices are not allowed in classrooms or are otherwise accessible during the school day as they see fit.
“I have long supported an online safety regime was heartened by Labour’s efforts to raise valid concerns carefully throughout the recent debates around the Online Safety Bill (2023).
“We all want to keep children safe online I believe that social media companies have failed to regulate themselves effectively to date.”
Nigel Gardner, standing in Harpenden and Berkhamsted for the Conservative Party, said: “‘It’s great the St Albans Times has broken this important national story.
“I fear for our children’s mental health, but we can’t go back to the dark ages. The genie is out of the bottle – and smartphones are part of our daily existence. But now – like in other areas of our lives – we need sensible regulation to protect our children.”
His political rival Victoria Collins, representing the Liberal Democrats in the constituency, added: “Time and time again local people are telling me about the crisis of mental care for young people and this is the issue we have to tackle head on. ”Headteachers are best placed to decide mobile phone usage in their school and nearly all schools already have mobile phone policies in place. Big tech companies should take their responsibility to protect users from harmful content seriously, whether through paid or organic promotion.
“Most importantly, the Government should be focusing on fixing the crisis in education; children going to school hungry, the explosion of mental health issues, recruitment and retention issues for teachers and the crumbling concrete in our schools.”
