Keeping tabs on smartphone use by children

The Women and Child Affairs Ministry recently revealed that it is considering a proposal to ban the use of smartphones by schoolchildren under the age of 12.

Women and Child Affairs Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj made the announcement that the Government was considering introducing a ban preventing children below the age of 12 from owning or using mobile phones. The move, she said, is aimed at protecting children from excessive screen time and exposure to harmful online content, and promoting healthier social interaction and overall development.

Along with restrictions on mobile phone use, countries are also restricting use of social media by children. Last year, Australia passed a law to impose a social media ban which makes platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($ 33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts.

The law also seeks to bolster privacy protections.

Studies done by the United Nations Organization show the effects of screen time and access to harmful content and abusive experiences on children’s mental health. These include online sexual abuse, hate content, gory or violent content, unwanted sexual content and online bullying.

While the internet, access to social media has created unprecedented opportunities for children and young people to communicate, learn, socialise, and play, there are the inherent risks involved.

Some of the serious risks involved according to a UN report are cyberbullying and other forms of peer-to-peer violence can affect young people each time they log in to social media or instant messaging platforms. Over a third of young people in 30 countries report being cyberbullied, with 1 in 5 skipping school because of it.

When browsing the Internet, children and young people may be exposed to hate speech and violent content – including messages that incite self-harm and even suicide. Young internet users are also vulnerable to recruitment by extremist and terrorist groups.

Digital platforms have also been used as vectors for disinformation and conspiracy theories that have a harmful effect on children and young people.

Most alarming is the threat of online sexual exploitation and abuse. It has never been easier for child sex offenders to contact their potential victims, share imagery and encourage others to commit offences. Some 80% of children in 25 countries report feeling in danger of sexual abuse or exploitation online.

Children can also be put at risk when tech companies breach their privacy to collect data for marketing purposes. Child-targeted marketing through apps – and the excessive screen time it often results in – can compromise a child’s healthy development. Majority of children access social media through mobile phones, hence keeping a tab on phone use is imperative.

In Sri Lanka, like in many countries, the excessive exposure of children to mobile phones/computers soared during the COVID lockdowns. Due to the online classes, they had to spend long hours with access to the screen and this exposed them to social media and other apps that they may have not been aware of before.

As many now predict, the genie is out of the bottle and there’s no way to put it back; hence, parents and teachers should ensure that children are not harmed by the overuse/misuse of mobile phones/social media.

The Minister’s suggestions to restrict mobile phone use for children is welcome. This should be done along with limited access to social media use as well. It’s the direction in which many countries are moving now.

This move should be supported by parents and educators too as it is for the good of the future generations.