At least a parent at 6,537 schools endorsed an online pledge by Smartphone Free Childhood.
According to the campaign group, parents at 20% of schools across the United Kingdom have signed an online commitment to withhold smartphones from children younger than 14.
Smartphone Free Childhood organized a “parent pact” that has been signed by at least one parent at 6,537 schools, representing less than 35,000 kids. The United Kingdom has 32,000 schools, including pupil referral units and nurseries.
The Pacts say, “Acting in the best interests of my child and our community, I will wait until at least the end of year 9 before getting them a smartphone.”
The group’s co-founder, Daisy Greenwell, said the pact aimed to reduce the peer pressure among children demanding a smartphone from their parents and raise the average age at which children obtain one. Greenwell said owning a brick phone—a smartphone alternative that allows text and calls only—could become more suitable for children if they knew their peers were barred from having smartphones.
She stated: “The peer pressure instantly dissolves if your child knows there are 10 children in their class who are getting a brick phone as well – and not a smartphone.”
According to a study by Ofcom, a media regular, more than 89% of 12-year-olds own a smartphone.
Greenwell stated: “The ultimate aim is to permanently shift the culture around when you give smartphones to your children.”
Smartphone Free Childhood stated the pact was anonymous; however, it has categorized data on sign-ups into regions and schools and released the findings on its website on Thursday.
The majority of the signatures are in Hertfordshire, where 2,429 parents have signed the agreement. The county is a focal point of the smartphone-free movement, with the city of St Albans trying to become the first UK city to go smartphone-free for all children under 14.
Following Hertfordshire is south-west London, with more than 1,700 sign-ups, and Hampshire, with more than 1,500. Greenwell stated that the group’s website could guide parents who endorsed the pact to relevant regional communities and school groups on WhatsApp.
Issues about the impact of smartphone ownership and social media on child development prompted Greenwell and her friend Clare Fernyhough to create the WhatsApp platform in February last year. The group’s purpose was to withhold parents from buying smartphones for children below sixteen. The group now boast 150,000 parents.
Jonathan Haidt, the author of The Anxious Generation, has been a major influence on the smartphone-free movement. He told the media that parents should set a “new norm” and withhold smartphones from their children until they are 16. Most social media platforms have a minimum sign-up age of 13; however, an Ofcom study shows that half of kids below 13 are on social media.
