Commissioned by a group of Guernsey parents as part of the Smartphone Free Childhood campaign – which now involves approximately 350,000 parents in more than 30 countries – the survey was completed by 675 local parents and carers.
It found smartphones were a consistent source of concern across both primary and secondary school settings, with the percentage of parents worried about their children getting or having a smartphone consistently above 80%, even among parents of pupils in Year 1.
Lead member Emma Lawlor said the survey provided growing evidence of the ‘damaging’ effects that smartphones and social media were having on the island’s children.
‘Since setting up the group, we’ve heard countless stories from parents and teachers, stories we simply can’t ignore,’ she said.
The group is calling for a community-wide commitment to delay giving children smartphones until they reach Year 10, or age 14, in favour of ‘dumb’ phones or alternative phone technologies.
It has also set up an extended Whatsapp group on the issue, which has grown quickly to include more than 600 parents.
The survey found more than a third of children had smartphones by the time they were in Year 6 – or aged 11 – with 38% of parents reporting they were already experiencing problems as a result.
By Year 10, 79% reported issues relating to smartphone usage and 30% reported exposure to harmful content including extreme violence, pornography, misogyny and hate speech. Four out of 10 parents reported mental health impacts, with other issues including tiredness, decreased focus and excessive arguments with family.
The survey also revealed a significant number of respondents were interested in taking action to address the problems.
70% of parents were interested in, or had already signed, a voluntary pact to delay smartphone ownership until Year 10, while 68% of primary parents said they would consider alternative, simpler or ‘dumb’ phones, such as non-data devices, if others did the same.
93% of parents wanted more support from schools and the government to manage the problems and pressures arising from smartphone usage.
‘We’ve all seen the headlines about the impact of smartphones on children, and I’m yet to meet an adult whose instinct doesn’t tell them this is a problem, but the overwhelming response to our survey brings those concerns home to our community,’ said SFC Guernsey member Oliver Westgarth.
‘It’s hard not to give in to peer pressure, but our findings show that those concerns don’t disappear, the pressure simply turns into problems. We have to make the alternative the new normal, or at the very least a viable option.
‘These results are hard to ignore, and we hope they can empower both schools and parents to work together for positive change.’
In Jersey, all government-run schools will ban the use of smartphones for students up to the end of Year 11 from the next academic year.
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