Can you really make phones illegal for under 16s?

“I'm not sure that today's world is any more dangerous than it used to be, I think it's just that we hear more about it now.”

It’s certainly perceived as more dangerous, a generation ago we didn’t have strangers grooming children in their own homes. Out on the streets, drugs are everywhere, traffic is far more intense and most parents are far more protective than I used to be

Children need educating about safe behaviour on their phones, it's not just about dodgy websites.
In the last year I've heard two separate instances of girls sending inappropriate pictures of themselves to boys, one group were 10/11 year olds and the other were 14 year olds.
In the case of the junior school children the girls were naked.

Smartphones can cause a lot of damage to children as they are growing up. A simple phone would be better, for letting parents know where their child is, but even that is no guarantee. It tells the parents where the phone is.
I'm not sure that today's world is any more dangerous than it used to be, I think it's just that we hear more about it now.
But banning smartphones would be very difficult.
The government needs to crack down on the dangerous websites rather than the phones themselves.

eddiecat78

Most of you seem to be unaware that teenagers use computers in one form or another for homework. I don't mean they are using them to Google information, they have to access various resources and complete the tasks set - all online. This practice started during lockdown when distance learning was necessary and hasn't stopped

Not just teenagers. My GS has to do his homework and submit it online, and he is only 6.

Most of you seem to be unaware that teenagers use computers in one form or another for homework. I don't mean they are using them to Google information, they have to access various resources and complete the tasks set - all online. This practice started during lockdown when distance learning was necessary and hasn't stopped

I think children should be able to have phones once at secondary school for safety purposes when travelling to and from school or other activities away from parents. I know we and our children did not have this but it is helpful.
Children need to have a laptop or ipad at home for homework so I cannot see the point of banning phones.

Of course you can’t. My GCs use Apple smart watches for a lot of things.

If, as Labour suggest and the SNP enacted, 16 year old teenagers will be able to vote in GEs how can a 16 year old less 1 day be banned from having a smart phone?

Could not be enforced. If an 18 year old is murdered via online bullying do we increase the smart phone usage age to 20.

When you look around and read comments elsewhere most parents are of the opinion that they won't be subscribing to any new law. If your child is murdered via the aforementioned you will no doubt be demanding the ban of smart phones.

The law may change but few will be listening.

I have posted on this and the other thread, sort out the platforms content make it impossible for the dark web to exist.

And to quote Pink Floyd leave our kids alone

Oh I dont think it will be just phones, it will be some sort of stricter control on all social media, phones will probably be the start. I would say Labour are more likely to proceed with it than the Tories. My prediction is that in 10 years time access to the internet for young people will look completely different.

Nothing like banning something to make it deeply attractive to teenagers. Probably a marketing ploy, hey ?

I don’t like the idea of rules being set by people who don’t know individual children. I wouldn’t be happy if mine had been on screens for 5 hours a day, but neither would I like someone outside of the family setting rules for my household. My children were teenagers when smartphones came in and data was too expensive for them to be on them for hours, but I do remember people saying there should be rules about PlayStation use and so on, and that their rules should be enforced for everyone.

I briefly tried to legislate about that at home, but soon realised that the children regulated themselves- they would play for a while then go out and play football or find something else to do without my interference, which they resented, as they knew what was fair, who needed another turn and so on, and I didn’t. Learning to do that was far more valuable than having someone standing over them pointing at her watch, with only a vague idea of what was going on.

I agree that banning phones is intrusive and IMO is outside the remit of anyone other than parents. By all means ban their use at school and penalise misuse of social media, bullying and so on, but if it works for a family to be able to contact one another they should be able to do that. Phones can be switched off during school hours but it should be up to parents if their children carry them to and fro.

Galaxy

That's not what the data is showing for young people I am afraid, lack of relationships, anxiety (specifically for girls as they use social media in a different way) with boys its porn and other issues, but am sure it will be fine.
It's worth noting that lots of the very wealthy tech lot dont let their children anywhere near social media etc.

Re data, that’s a valid point. Various aspects of bullying take place over the internet. I doubt banning smart phones would stop it - bullies would just find other ways. The victim could, as now, ignore it, but the bullies would certainly continue to mention to the victim what they have seen.
It will be interesting to see how far this idea goes.

Galaxy

That's not what the data is showing for young people I am afraid, lack of relationships, anxiety (specifically for girls as they use social media in a different way) with boys its porn and other issues, but am sure it will be fine.
It's worth noting that lots of the very wealthy tech lot dont let their children anywhere near social media etc.

Banning smart phones won't put an end to that anyway, children use ipads, laptops and home computers.
The very wealthy pay people to watch their children and keep them safe.
The data on phone use cites children using their phones in school and spending up to 5 hours a day on them.
My DGD's school does not permit their use in school time. No one should be on any screen for 5 hours a day and children need to have a screen free period before bed time. None of those are issues solely to do with smart phones. They cover all screen use.
Proper education and rules on use are needed not complete bans which won't work anyway. Enterprising teens will still manage, but their parents won't know.

A basic pay as you go for making calls is all that’s needed.
It’s not saying that they can’t have an iPad or computer at home.Doing this may save young lives and a whole lot of misery.

That's not what the data is showing for young people I am afraid, lack of relationships, anxiety (specifically for girls as they use social media in a different way) with boys its porn and other issues, but am sure it will be fine.
It's worth noting that lots of the very wealthy tech lot dont let their children anywhere near social media etc.

What will happen if teens do not have phones is that parents will return to not permitting children any freedom. They will pick them up in cars and drop them off at school. The concept that we managed when we were young is just plain ridiculous. The world changes. Children have risks we never imagined and their parents know it. That's why they allow them smart phones.
As for relationships phones properly used can increase interactions and keep people in touch. I have several WhatsApp groups which help me keep in touch with people all over the country. Some of them near me I see regularly and we use our phones to fix up meetings and share events we want to go to.
My DGD has set up a family group which keeps us all in touch.

Also we are rubbish at calculating risk, whilst we worry about not being able to walk home without a phone, we are ignoring the data on mental health, lack of relationships, etc.

BlueBelle

Well we managed to get through school without them Glorianny and our children managed to get through school without them so I really don’t see why we have to know they are on their way home do we ?
Is there already a thread about this I thought I saw one earlier?

I agree with you, you’d think the child had to negotiate a croc invested river, run through a Colombian drug dealers den and cross a six lane highway to get home.
In any case a basic pay as you go phone would still be allowed.

Glorianny

Norah

Glorianny

Apparently the education select committee have advised that the next government should make it illegal to own a phone until a child is 16. Is this really possible or even advisable? My 11 year old GD uses hers to let us know if she is out of school late, or just on her way home. She isn't allowed to use it in school but it gives her a little independence whilst reassuring us she is safe.

Glorianny I'm not sure why children can't use a dumb phone to let someone know they are on the way? Is dumb good enough?

My husband uses a dumb phone calling our land line, whilst away (we've no reception for dumb or smart phone to call out from our property).

They could but the other feature of a smart phone which many parents use is the ability to locate the phone if the child is missing or (when older than my DGD) needs to be monitored in some way.

Yes, this is a good aspect of smart phones.

Norah

Glorianny

Apparently the education select committee have advised that the next government should make it illegal to own a phone until a child is 16. Is this really possible or even advisable? My 11 year old GD uses hers to let us know if she is out of school late, or just on her way home. She isn't allowed to use it in school but it gives her a little independence whilst reassuring us she is safe.

Glorianny I'm not sure why children can't use a dumb phone to let someone know they are on the way? Is dumb good enough?

My husband uses a dumb phone calling our land line, whilst away (we've no reception for dumb or smart phone to call out from our property).

They could but the other feature of a smart phone which many parents use is the ability to locate the phone if the child is missing or (when older than my DGD) needs to be monitored in some way.

Glorianny

Apparently the education select committee have advised that the next government should make it illegal to own a phone until a child is 16. Is this really possible or even advisable? My 11 year old GD uses hers to let us know if she is out of school late, or just on her way home. She isn't allowed to use it in school but it gives her a little independence whilst reassuring us she is safe.

Glorianny I'm not sure why children can't use a dumb phone to let someone know they are on the way? Is dumb good enough?

My husband uses a dumb phone calling our land line, whilst away (we've no reception for dumb or smart phone to call out from our property).

What about smartware installed on their phones that limits what they can access.

I am not talking about parental controls, but software that is part of the operating system which is hardwired in, so that at 16, to get the full access to the internet, they would need a different phone.

However, stopping children usingtheir phones to do something means that they will simply access it in different ways - on ipads, tablets, laptops etc, plus having access through an adult's phone, their parents, grandparents or other adults.

It hard to turn the clock back , but not impossible. I would back the ban on smart phones for under 16 s. By all means they may have a phone to make phone calls , text , or what's app. But unrestricted access to the Internet is destroying the lives of many children.