Alex Cooney: No. We know children are going online at home, in their bedrooms, late at night; we need a much more ambitious approach
A bit done, a lot more to do. That’s my take on the Department of Education’s plan for new guidelines on smartphone use by primary school-aged children.
While I welcome Minister for Education Norma Foley’s efforts to address the very real harms that children can encounter online, they do not go far enough.
There is a singular emphasis on smartphones when based on recent CyberSafeKids research, children aged eight to 10 years of age are far more likely to own a tablet (60 per cent) or a games console (40 to 50 per cent). These devices have the same capability as a smartphone in terms of online access, so narrowing the focus solely to smartphone use is very much a partial solution.
We talk to thousands of children every year about how to be safe and smart online and the reality is that they are often going online at home, in their bedrooms, late into the night: unfettered, unsupervised access to the internet that will continue regardless of these guidelines.
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Eighty per cent of the primary school children we surveyed told us that they were allowed to have a smart device in their bedroom, and more than 30 per cent of them told us they could “go online whenever they wanted”. The feedback from one 11-year-old boy is more than likely a widespread reality: “My mam turns off the PlayStation at 11 or 12 at night but then I go on my tablet and she doesn’t know.” Lack of sleep and exposure to scary or disturbing content are having a real impact on the mental health of our children.
The emphasis needs to be on protecting and empowering children online by properly equipping them to be online in a safe and smart way. And this is where the Minister’s initiatives could be far more ambitious.
Much like we prepare children to ride a bike safely and get them to the point when they can go off with their friends independently, we need to take that same approach with children going online. There is great benefit to be had in the online world, but they must be properly prepared for it. That requires ongoing support — at home via their parents or guardians and at school through our education system. In the face of the billions of euro of resources of big tech — whose business model needs to be fed by growing their user base — the funding provided by the Government for essential online training for our children is only scratching the surface.
It’s not the Government’s job to tell parents how they should parent, but there are several things that they could be doing to empower parents and teachers to provide the support and guidance that children so desperately need. These include public awareness campaigns (like the RSA’s road safety campaigns), signposting parents to the many excellent resources available to help guide their decisions about what children should be accessing online and at what age they should access it more independently. We want to see parents able to make informed decisions about the right age to give their child a smart device, and how to manage the huge pressure they will face from their children because “everybody has one”.
We also need to ensure that our education system is fit for the digital age. Digital media literacy and online safety are peripheral topics within the curriculum and that has to change. This topic should be the fourth pillar of the education system, alongside reading, writing and arithmetic, because it would reflect the lived reality of children growing up in a digital age and better equip them to navigate the online world safely. They should also include proper support and funding for the organisations like our own that are trying to cater to the huge demand that there is out there for online safety advice and support.
Along with other child-focused organisations, we have been making this case for change for many years. And whilst some progress is being made, including these guidelines and the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act, there is scope for so much more. More to do; let’s do it.
- Alex Cooney is chief executive and co-founder of CyberSafeKids
Joanna Fortune: Yes. An outright ban on smartphones would be futile. Far better to bring parents with you
Norma Foley plans to issue guidelines that encourage parents to avoid buying smartphones for primary school-aged children. These guidelines are intended to support primary schools and the parents of younger children who wish to develop a voluntary no-smartphones policy for their school. On the surface this all sounds great — but the word “voluntary” has provoked a reaction from some that the Government’s plan does not go far enough. This includes those who believe the Minister for Education should have issued an outright ban on smartphones for this age group.
I do not advocate smart devices for primary school-aged children — my view is that the risks far outweigh any potential benefits such technology might bring for this age group. As parents, I believe we must work collaboratively to delay the point of access to social media and smartphones for young children. And yet, I do not think an outright ban is warranted; the Government’s guidelines go far enough.
A ban would be a directive imposed by Government on to families and schools — but by definition, anything that is imposed is not collaborative and does not bring people with you in the decision-making. A blanket ban would be futile because it would be impractical to enforce or monitor — and what would the consequences be for acting against this directive? It could end up seeming tokenistic, whereas Government-issued guidelines that are rooted in evidence of the potential harms caused by early access to technology afford parents informed decision-making.
If a parent is on the fence about whether or not they should give their child a smartphone, these guidelines — combined with a no smartphones voluntary policy within their school community — can be enough to tip the decision to say no to giving their child a phone at this age. I am in favour of a more collaborative, active decision-making process between parents and educators. When the stakeholders in a situation are actively involved in the decision-making process, the result is often more positive decisions, higher levels of transparency around the decision-making processes and ultimately greater acceptance and adherence to the guidelines. Given the futility of monitoring an outright ban, the Government’s approach is sensible.
A more collaborative decision-making process also strengthens communication and trust within the group or community that will ultimately be affected. If we want (and we do want this) parents to subscribe to a policy that advocates delaying the point of access to smartphones until they are in secondary school, then ensuring there is good communication and trust within school parents’ communities is essential.
It is naïve to think that every parent will follow these guidelines, just as it is naïve to think that all parents would adhere to an outright ban. Instead, the hope is that a critical mass of parents and school communities will subscribe to this practice until it becomes atypical for a primary school-aged child to have a smartphone rather than atypical to not have one.
Families who are co-parenting or juggling complex childcare/school collection arrangements might argue that their child needs a phone so that arrangements can be communicated to them. It is not for me to say whether this is a valid stance, but the majority of school-parents community advocating against smartphones might encourage the parents to explore options, like a basic text-only phone.
But guidelines alone aren’t enough; the policy should also include a proactive educational component whereby children and parents are educated about digital/media literacy, healthy use and responsible engagement with technology and staying safe online.
- Joanna Fortune is a psychotherapist and author of the ‘15 Minute parenting’ series of books