Experts and advocates advocate for a smartphone-free childhood

It’s a question parents around the world face: should my child have a smartphone?

Some advocates and experts say the answer is clear: They shouldn’t.

“I think we all knew it in the pit of our stomachs from the beginning,” said Jenna Poste, a member of a new Canadian advocacy group Unplugged Canada, in an interview at her home in Hammonds Plains, N.S.

“We need to start rethinking the norms that have been created in society where we have really moved to a phone-based childhood.”

Unplugged Canada was inspired by similar movements around the world, such as Wait Till Eighth in the United States and Smartphone Free Childhood in the United Kingdom.

The group is urging parents across the country to commit to delaying giving their children a smartphone until high school.

Advocates and experts argue that smartphones are particularly problematic because of their accessibility: They’re right there in your pocket, often spurring compulsive and addictive behaviors driven largely by social media.

Poste has worked in the technology industry for more than 20 years, starting his career at BlackBerry, helping build the world’s first smartphones. He now works for a wellness app.

“I have seen many of the positive and amazing things that technology can bring, but I am also very aware of the damage it can cause,” said Poste, who has a seven-year-old daughter and a five-year-old daughter. one year old son

“Smartphones are really fueling a mental health crisis in our children and young people and are giving them a gateway to harmful content, exposing them to violent content. They are also designed to be addictive.”

He also points out the research in the New York Times best-selling book. The anxious generation by American psychologist Jonathan Haidt.

Haidt’s book argues that technology and social media have rewired our children’s brains, which has taken a heavy toll on their mental health.

Haidt links increased rates of depression and suicide and decreased academic performance to smartphone use, based on a number of factors. It examined statistics for under-18s on a range of mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. For each of them, there was a sudden spike around 2010, when smartphones became widely available.

“We have a huge destruction of mental health, happiness and education,” Haidt told CBC Radio host Matt Galloway. The current in a recent interview.

“To me, this is one of the biggest public health emergencies we’ve ever had.”

Haidt presents four “new rules” that parents and caregivers should adopt to lay the foundation for a healthier childhood. They are: do not use smartphones before high school; no social networks before 16; schools without telephones; and more independence, free play and responsibility in today’s world.

Australia recently passed a law banning social media for those under 16, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with some of the strictest regulations targeting Big Tech.

Meanwhile, schools across Canada, including those in Nova Scotia, have begun implementing restrictions on cell phone use in schools, often requiring students to have them turned off during the day.

Simon Sherry, a psychology professor at Dalhousie University, agrees with delaying giving smartphones to children for as long as possible.

However, he feels The anxious generation exaggerates the issue. For example, when negative health effects caused by smartphones are found, those effects tend to be quite small in magnitude, he said.

“We don’t need to demonize all screens and we need to be cautious about the statements we make in this area,” said Sherry, a father of three who has struggled with this same issue in his own home.

He said there are some positives that come from using social media, such as warm exchanges with family and friends that create happiness and connection.

However, Sherry said there is a long list of negative physical and psychological effects, including a sedentary lifestyle, sleep disorders and obesity, as well as links to inattention, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and loneliness. .

“To be clear, my position is that the acquisition itself should be delayed or your child should be carefully supervised,” he said. “Often the mobile phone is the beginning of evil or the problem. So be very careful.”

Screen time in general is also a growing concern among experts and parents alike. A study published in 2023 by researchers at Western College in London, Ontario, found that children who spent more time in front of screens were more likely to have symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Since Unplugged Canada began in September 2024, 1,157 people across the country have signed the pledge, according to its website.

Poste expects that number to increase as people begin to discuss the issue.

He said he realizes that stopping using smartphones is easier said than done, especially if your child already has a smartphone.

But there are alternatives, like the Pinwheel phone, which gives parents control over what kids can do, and flip phones, which only have options for texting and making phone calls. Poste also suggested getting a home phone for after-school visits and installing an indoor computer for playing games and surfing the Web.

Join the conversation

Unplugged Canada will hold a free information session on Thursday at Hammonds Plains Consolidated School in Hammonds Plains, NS, which will also be streamed on Zoom for those who cannot attend in person. More than 150 people had signed up to attend as of Wednesday.

Poste said building community will help parents have the confidence to follow through on their commitment, particularly with strong-willed preteens.

“If we just start with their little community and start making some changes there, fewer people will have them and there will be less pressure to have to give them one,” he said.

“There are a growing number of people who really want change.”