1. Are you addicted to your smartphone?
2. How long does the average American 11-to-14-year-old spend looking at a screen every day?
3. What do you usually do with your bestie?
4. How long do you spend looking at a screen every day?
5. Can we stop our child having a phone if all their friends have one?
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🌷Summary:
Beth and Neil discuss smartphone addiction, especially among children. Neil notices that Beth is distracted by her phone and asks if she's addicted, which leads to a broader conversation about the concerns of excessive smartphone use. They highlight studies showing that girls who spend more time on social media are more likely to experience anxiety and depression, and that smartphones may delay brain development and affect sleep.
The program raises the question: "Are kids better off without a phone?" Journalist Myra Anubi shares her struggle about whether to give her 9-year-old daughter a smartphone. While wanting her daughter to fit in with her friends, Myra worries about the potential harm of too much screen time. Daisy Greenwell and Clare Fernyhough launched the 'Smartphone Free Childhood' movement in 2024, encouraging parents to delay smartphone use for their children. This movement quickly grew across the UK and now involves families in 18 countries.
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The US has one of the highest levels of smartphone use.
Actually, I am worried about my smartphone use, and it's not just me. Concerns are growing about the negative effect smartphones are having on adults and, even more, on children.
Studies show that girls who spend more time on social media are more likely to be anxious or depressed, and smartphones have also been linked to delayed brain development and poor sleep.
It's a nightmare getting your child a phone, but you've got no choice. You have to because everyone else is doing it.
I'm worried about how much time she'll spend on her own device and what she might even see there. I mean, she's only nine at the end of the day. But at the same time, I don't want her to feel left out because some of her friends already have smartphones, and there's a chance that she'll miss out on play dates or kids' trends, cat videos or online chats with her besties.
Parents like Myra are having to make an impossible choice – either give their children potentially harmful devices, or risk alienating them from their friends who do have smartphones.
In February 2024, mums Daisy and Clare, started a WhatsApp group encouraging parents to not give their child a smartphone until the age of 14, with no social media access until 16. Soon, the phone-free group of families grew into a movement, 'Smartphone Free Childhood'.
The Smartphone Free Childhood campaign has grown rapidly in schools, and there are now groups in 18 countries around the world, offering kids a circle of friends to play and chat with in the old-fashioned way: face-to-face.