For the attention of AHS Leadership Team and SIC,
We are writing to you because we are concerned about the impact of smartphones on children and young people in school. We know how much pressure schools are under and are grateful for all the work you do for our children. We also acknowledge that it is not the school’s responsibility to dictate when parents buy devices for their children or how to moderate their use. However, you are in a powerful position not only to give children a break from phones during the school day, but to help shift societal norms. Children spend more time in school than any other place outside the home. Parents – and many young people themselves – want schools to help them minimise the negative impact of smartphones.
The problem: When smartphones first became available parents did not fully understand how these devices could affect users, however there is now a growing body of evidence linking smartphone use with an array of harms.
They encourage addictive behaviour. Tech companies intentionally make apps addictive to sell our harvested data. A study by researchers at King’s College London has estimated that one in four children and young people use their smartphones in a way that is consistent with a behavioural addiction.
They distract from learning. According to one study, the average teenager with a smartphone receives 237 notifications a day – one every few minutes. The apps and streaming platforms they use are intentionally designed to engage users as often and for as long as possible. Teachers should not have to compete with this constant low-level distraction. Statistics show that children attending schools with effective smartphone bans get higher grades.
They promote Cyberbullying. Disagreements between pupils used to stop at the school gate, now they follow children wherever they go. By restricting use of phones at school the harassment of victims of cyberbullying can be reduced. Young people who experience cyberbullying are twice as likely to attempt suicide and self-harm. One in six teens report being cyberbullied in the past month, according to the World Health Organisation. By encouraging more healthy forms of communication during the school day, like talking to each other face to face, more respectful and empathetic behaviour will be fostered.
They are detrimental to mental health. Rates of depression, anxiety and suicide in young people have spiked globally since 2010, when children first began getting smartphones. The first generation to grow up with smartphones are now adults – data shows that the younger they got their first smartphone, the worse their mental health today.
They are a gateway to pornography. Often children don’t seek this out but are exposed to them via algorithms and messaging apps. In a review that included 32 schools and surveyed 900 children with smartphones in England, 90% of girls and 50% of boys say they’re sent explicit content they didn’t want to see.
They facilitate grooming. Sites like TikTok, Snapchat and Roblox are used by sexual predators to target children with their first smartphones, blackmailing them into sharing sexual content. According to the National Crime Agency, ‘Sextortion’ is now the fastest growing crime against teens. According to the Internet Watch Foundation, since 2022, there has been a 66% rise in ‘self generated’ sexual abuse imagery of children.
They infringe on a child’s privacy. When children are allowed to video and photograph other at school, photos and videos may be shared or posted online without prior consent from children and families. In some circumstances this is potentially illegal. According to the NSPCCs website, this could also lead to safeguarding risks such as images being modified or misused out of context, for example to create child abuse images or to be used to ‘Cyberbully’.
Even if you dismiss these risks or believe most children will manage to successfully navigate them, the most compelling argument for the ban of smartphones, and the harm that is potentially the most significant of all, is that they are experience blockers, distracting children and young people from engaging in the real world. The average UK 12-year-old now spends 29 hours a week – equivalent to a part-time job – on their smartphone. This leaves little time for real world activities and relationships or to learn the essential life skills needed for the transition to adulthood.
What we’re asking of you:
1. Support parents trying to protect their children from the harm of smartphones by banning their use during the school day on school premises, including during lunch and break times.
We ask that phones be silenced and stored in bags or turned into safety deposit boxes for the entire school day, not just during lessons. This should be introduced with an education programme about the ‘Attention Economy’ and the psychology behind screen addiction, as well up to date advice on using streaming and social media apps safely. There could be a phased transition starting with one day a week to allow pupils and teachers to become accustomed to the new norms. Exceptions could be made for pupils with caring responsibilities or specific needs. The ban would obviously not apply to the halls of residence outside the school day. Urgent contact from home could be made via the school office, non-urgent messages could be accessed when pupils leave the building at the end of the school day.
2. Implement strict, age-appropriate Wi-Fi filters for educational content only.
The SIC guest Wi-Fi currently facilitates access to age restricted websites such as TikTok and Snapchat via children's personal devices, so even if a parent blocks the use of these sites at home, they can be accessed at school. Even when attempts are made to restrict inappropriate and potentially harmful sites, instructions on how to disable parental controls and by-pass filters are easily found on the internet. We ask that, in addition to restricting the use of personal devices, public access Wi-Fi be turned off in the main school building and password protected guest Wi-Fi is made available to staff and adult visitors only. Pupils can access the internet for educational purposes when they log on to school accounts on school devices using their username and password.
3. Stop teachers using smartphones as part of their lessons for younger pupils.
Currently, pupils are sometimes asked to use educational apps or research topics online using their personal mobile devices during lessons. Not only is the use of smartphones in the classroom distracting, as pupils will be tempted to check notifications, it pressurises parents who have chosen to delay or restrict smartphone use, as it unfairly disadvantages their child. It may lead some to believe a smartphone as necessary piece of school equipment, even if giving one to their child goes against their better judgement.
4. Encourage parents to delay giving smartphones to their children
Parents are desperate for guidance on this issue, and your support would help parents to say “no” to smartphones with confidence. Let parents know that having a smartphone is not part of the expectation of attending High School, and they should not provide one if their child is not developmentally ready or it goes against their family values. Even mobile phone providers such as EE do not recommend giving a child a smartphone until they are at least 13, yet data from Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, shows that the vast majority of children in the UK own a smartphone by the age of 11, with ownership rising from 44% at age nine to 91% at age 11. Empowered parents, supported by proactive school leaders can reverse this trend and protect Shetland’s children and young people from the array of harms we have highlighted in this letter.
We are keen to work with you to help reset the norm around smartphones and protect childhood for longer. Nationally and internationally we are waking up to this issue and we hope that Anderson and the education authority of Shetland, with the backing parents, can lead the way in establishing a policy that truly gets in front of the problem.
Yours sincerely,