Smartphone Free Childhood – and then what?

Smartphones have become part of modern childhood. If we take them away, how will we fill the void?

You’ve probably heard of the Smartphone Free Childhood movement that went viral on Whatsapp earlier this year. It gained huge momentum amongst parents in February, and has captured the attention of government and mainstream media nationwide. It’s now making big strides in persuading schools to change their policies on smartphone usage. I have two children, one in junior school and the other about to start primary school. I’m a big fan of the movement and in general, I think it’s an incredible example of a clever strategy being expertly deployed to create momentous change. I wasn’t remotely surprised to find out that one of the founders is also the owner of a successful branding consultancy.

I do, however, think the movement is about to hit a natural fork in the road – one that all successful businesses and movements come up against. At this point, in order to capture more hearts and change more minds, the strategy may need become more nuanced. Why? Because I’m noticing a divide growing amongst the very people this movement should be appealing to.

(Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash)

I experienced this divide first hand the other day, when I casually brought up the movement in conversation with a very close friend of mine. Our usual stance on parenting matters is very similar, so her negative reaction wasn’t what I expected. She believes that children benefit hugely from technology, and that taking it away from them could hinder their connection with each other, and limit their access to education outside the classroom. She’s worried that children who grow up ‘banned’ from the screen will behave like children banned from sugar – completely obsessed with it as soon as they’re old enough to make their own choices. And she rightly pointed out that we live in a digital world. Perhaps we’d be doing our children a disservice by not allowing them to become au fait with it from an early age, especially those who are already coming from a place of disadvantage.

Her perspective really got me thinking. I have to admit, I do hand my phone over to my children fairly frequently, sometimes so they can watch Bluey, but sometimes so they can watch a Youtube tutorial or an inspirational video. Isn’t it incredible that this generation can share their passions across the world, and take lessons in weird and wonderful things we’d never even thought to try, pre-internet? There are so many children out there using social media to share their skills with their peers. Taking it upon themselves to create cool football training videos, or step by step tutorials on how to draw. My son has been drawing beautiful waterfalls and coral reefs with the help of Art For Kids Hub on YouTube recently. If we ban children and teens from smartphones, can we help them find new ways to continue practicing, recording and sharing their talents?

I do believe that if we remove smartphones from childhood (which, I’d like to remind you, I am wholly in favour of), we need to replace them with something better. Perhaps that simply means restoring other freedoms. Independent, unsupervised outdoor play has been lost to modern life – to our anxious generation. How can we make it possible for children to play out safely again? To connect with each other, away from prying adult eyes? Privacy and connection is what every tween- and teenager craves. If they can’t get that online, they need to get it offline - and for that to happen, they need to be let out. There’s a fantastic movement which is addressing this – but I wonder if Playing Out needs to start playing a bigger part in the SFS conversation.

There's also the issue of rehabilitating those children who have lost their connection with the real world. I imagine this is a fairly widespread issue right now. Many children would probably feel lost – even traumatised – if their smartphones were suddenly taken away. How can we help those children to belong in real life? How can we remind them how to participate meaningfully, off screen? A school in London has taken a radical step to breaking its pupils’ screen addictions – introducing cooked family-style breakfasts and dinners, creative activities and sports before and after school hours each day, in return for a complete ban on phones at school. I was shocked when I first read this – a 12 hour school day?! No thanks! But actually, what it’s offering is simply real-life connection in place of virtual connection. It’s rebuilding real life community. And if what pupils are saying is true: school suddenly isn’t so boring anymore. It’s where they can connect with their peers without their parents and carers breathing down their necks.

Smartphones are clearly problematic, and I don't believe they should be part of childhood. The Smartphone Free Childhood movement has done a brilliant job of getting the ball rolling on a hugely important issue. The brand is divisive, and that's why it has worked. A brand must be divisive in order to get noticed and be effective. But now the ball is well and truly rolling, it seems to me that the strategy needs some additional layers in order to make sure the aspiration becomes reality. The strategy needs to become multifaceted. Yes, remove smartphones (use dumbphones instead), but also create some sort of heavily regulated online social space where children can share their skills and learn new ones without being exposed to harm. Put measures in place to safely restore children’s physical and emotional independence. Above all, actively teach them how to create real, lasting connections and belong where it matters most.

I'm aware this is a massive ask. It would mean different organisations and sectors working in strategic partnership, and parents and schools all over the country going beyond making pacts and rewriting the rules. But it's doable. With a great plan, anything is.