Smartphones are a big part of life today. Most adults have one. They are great for finding information and staying connected with family and friends.

However, there is now an alarming amount of evidence and research of the negative effects of smartphones and social media on children and teenagers. These include:

• Poor mental health, such as depression, anxiety and low self-esteem.
• Issues with cyberbullying, attention, focus and sleep.
• Exposure to dangerous and harmful content, and inappropriate material; and
• Smartphones can be highly addictive, so time spent on a device reduces time spent playing, interacting and developing vital social skills.

Children often get their first phone in primary school and over 90% of 12-year-olds now have a smartphone. This period is crucial for brain development, and the younger a child gets a smartphone, the more harm it can cause – something which the American writer and academic Jonathan Haidt talks about in his book The Anxious Generation. Haidt blames the spike in teenage depression and anxiety on the rise of smartphones and social media, and he offers a set of prescriptions: no smartphones before secondary school and no social media before age 16. For more information, please visit https://jonathanhaidt.com/anxious-generation/.

Schools are in a powerful position to change the norm and therefore a large group of schools in Sutton, including WHSG, are coming together to make their schools smartphone-free for certain year groups. At WHSG students in Years 7, 8 and 9 are not permitted to use or bring a smartphone into school and as of September 2025 Year 10 will also be included in this.

Research now indicates that age 11-15 is the age group when children are at their most vulnerable to potential negative influences from access to social media. Accessing the internet through a smartphone can pose additional risks than doing so from a more secure network in the home environment. As such, we are also encouraging all parents/carers to delay giving a smartphone to their child until they are at least 14 years old and to delay allowing their children access to social media until age 16.

A growing number of parents and schools across the country are choosing to do this and there is widespread support from Smartphone Free Childhood - a parent-led grassroots movement that’s growing fast across the UK.

If you would like to find out more about support for parents who want their children to be smartphone free, please visit  Smartphone Free Childhood and One Collective Power.