Sydney parents are joining forces to stop children using smartphones, which they say are addictive, increase the risk of anxiety and depression and put kids at greater risk of bullying.
More than 300 parents have pledged on the Wait Mate website to delay giving their kids smartphones in the two days after it launched, as a leading child psychologist says children should have a licence before using a mobile device.
Wait Mate unites parents who do not want to give their kids a smartphone at least until they are in high school.
Wait Mate co-founders Amy Friedlander and Jessica Mendoza-Roth want to help parents delay giving smartphones to their children.Credit: Wolter Peeters
Co-founder Jessica Mendoza-Roth said smartphones are changing childhood, with kids spending up to seven hours a day on their mobile device instead of time with friends, reading books and hanging out with family.
“Smartphones are like pokies in children’s pockets – they are addictive, they can interfere with sleep, they can increase the risk of bullying,” she said.
Kate Halls said her 12-year-old daughter is desperate to have a smartphone like her friends.
“She does use an iPad at home, and can use that to connect with friends when at home,” Halls said. “Having a phone is more about not wanting to look and feel different to her peers while at school or on the bus.”
Wait Mate co-founder Jessica Mendoza-Roth said smartphones “are like pokies in children’s pockets”.Credit: iStock
An occupational therapist, Halls said she is aware of online safety and mental health risks associated with children spending long periods online.
Halls and her husband do not have a firm age that they believe is right for their children to use a smartphone.
“It’s important to consider your child, their personal readiness, and what feels right for your family. For us, now is not the time,” she said.
Wait Mate is modelled on the Wait Until 8th movement in the United States, which encourages parents to delay giving their child a smartphone until eighth grade – the end of junior high school.
The campaign relies heavily on the argument of social psychologist Jonathan Haidt who says in The Anxious Generation that smartphones and social media are harming the mental wellbeing of young people.
However, other experts such as University of California psychology professor Candice Odgers question Haidt’s claims, which she says are not supported by science.
Concerns about the negative impact of mobile phones in schools prompted the Minns government to ban their use in NSW high schools last year.
Mendoza-Roth said the campaign is designed to help parents say no to children having a smartphone by connecting them with like-minded parents in their child’s school cohort.
“It is hard for parents to resist giving their child a smartphone if they are the only one who is then missing out on social arrangements, chat groups and other forms of communication,” she said.
Mendoza-Roth said parents who wanted to stay in contact with their children could give them a standard phone or smartwatch.
“There is no reason why children need an addictive smartphone with a large screen and the pull of varying notifications, which create a constant desire to check for more,” she said.
Child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said excessive screen time is linked to sedentary behaviour, problems such as anxiety and lower self-esteem, social isolation and reduced academic performance.
He believes primary school students should not have smartphones or social media accounts.
Carr-Gregg, who led a 2018 review into mobile phone use in schools, said there were legitimate reasons to give children a standard phone – such as allowing parents to keep in touch and track their location.
Before children get a smartphone, Carr-Gregg said, they should be required to have an eSmart Digital Licence, which is an online learning program designed to teach children aged 10-14 about responsible online behaviour.
Western Sydney University expert in children and technology Joanne Orlando said her research suggested many factors – economy, cost of living, the climate crisis – affected children’s mental health.
“Painting social media as the only negative in their life is not correct and is unhelpful as they won’t get support they need,” she said.
Orlando said campaigns such as Wait Mate simply pause owning a smartphone.
“Children still need lots of parenting and education to show them how to do balanced and healthy phone use,” she said.
In 2020, the Australian Communications and Media Authority found 46 per cent of six- to 13-year-olds owned or had access to a mobile phone, on which the main activities were playing games, taking photos and video and using apps.