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‘Surrounded by a billion strangers’: The risks of your child’s first smartphone — and how to deal with them
Per Brad YoungMoney reporter
If your child is approaching secondary school, you could be preparing to spend hundreds of pounds on their first smartphone.
But choosing an expensive contract is just the first in a series of difficult decisions parents face as their children gain independence online.
While phones bring huge benefits in terms of connectivity and independence, they also expose children to risks ranging from accidentally running up bills to sexual exploitation and AI-driven bullying.
Sky News spoke to experts in the field about what trends parents should be aware of and what tools they can use to address them.
There are four categories of risks for children, according to Childnet, a UK-based charity for child online safety.
These are happysuch as pornography or gambling, contactsuch as grooming or cyberbullying, businesswhere children have accumulated huge bills by mistake, and conductwhich includes what information a child shares online.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has revealed “a really sharp increase in young people being sexually exploited and groomed online” without leaving their homes, said Kate Edwards, the charity’s associate head of child online safety.
This refers to incidents where a child is directed to participate in their own abuse, which may be filmed or photographed and shared.
Ms Edwards said young people had also reported cases of sextortion, where they had been “tricked into sharing a sexual image of themselves and then demanded a ransom” under threat of sharing the photograph.
The charity has received calls from children reporting that generative AI is being used to bully, groom or misdiagnose children, as well as calls raising concerns about pro-eating disorder or pro-suicide content.
“The age of onset of an eating disorder can be quite young… if it’s a similar age to when someone might get their first mobile phone, then it’s important for parents to be aware of the risks,” said Umairah Malik, clinical counselling coordinator at the UK’s leading eating disorders charity Beat.
The risk of developing an eating disorder is highest in children aged 13 to 17, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence said.
Video content shared on social media is particularly difficult to regulate, with those that fixate on body image or what an influencer eats during the day causing disordered behavior among vulnerable viewers.
“We gave him a loaded gun”
Social media played a role in the murder of Amanda Stephens’s son Olly, 13, who was lured to a field near his home in Reading and stabbed to death in 2021 following an online dispute.
Ms Stephens now believes the risks posed by smartphones are too great for children to have one.
“Looking back, I felt almost proud when we gave Olly his first phone. Now I feel like we gave him a loaded gun,” she said.
“He was exposed to horrific violence, threats and intimidation, all under our roof.”
During the trial of two 14-year-old boys and a 13-year-old girl, Ms Stephens said she found there was little oversight on social media about violent language or sharing images of knives.
“In the safety of their home, they are surrounded by a billion strangers.”
She is not alone in favour of a blanket ban: the House of Commons Education Committee has advised the government to consider legislating against mobile phones for under-16s.
Phone ownership is now almost universal among 12-year-olds, according to Ofcom.
But there are tools parents can use.
“There are many tools available to help you. I know it can be very scary to hear about all these risks,” Ms Edwards said.
“What’s important to note is that while there are all these risks, it doesn’t mean that every child who uses a smartphone will encounter these risks and that there are only risks to using this technology. There are also many benefits.”
What can parents do to increase safety?
Ms Edwards said parents should have open conversations with their children, working with them to decide on restrictions and breaking down barriers of authority between parents and children.
And whatever rules are in place, the most important thing is to “let your child know that their safety comes before any rules.”
A common issue raised by children via Childline is online harm or abuse when breaking a family rule – such as using a device at night. Children were therefore scared of getting into trouble so did not speak up, she said.
Ms Edwards said parents can contact their mobile phone provider and let them know the phone is their child’s, and they will put additional barriers in place, including content or spending blocks.
At home, internet service providers offer tools to set limits on what can be accessed via WiFi.
Childnet International CEO Will Gardener highlighted Apple’s Family Sharing account and Google’s Family Link, which connect a child’s phone to a parent’s, allowing some control over downtime, such as turning off certain apps at specific times.
They can also be used to approve payments, secure requests for app downloads, and monitor usage.
The apps also have their own security mechanisms, Ms. Edwards said, including whether anyone can contact or share information about her child, or whether she can play with others.
Parents and children should also be aware of what support mechanisms are available.
The NSCC security center has more information on how to keep children safe online, while its partnership with Vodaphone has produced a toolkit to think about your child’s first phone.
Children can confidentially report sexual images or videos to Childline and IWF Report Removewho will work to remove them from the internet.
Any adult concerned about a child’s safety or wellbeing can contact the NSPCC helpline at help@nspcc.org.uk or by calling 0808 800 5000. Children can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or childline.org.uk.
If you are concerned about your health or that of someone else, please contact Beat on 0808 801 0677 or via the website beateatingdisorders.org.uk.
Anyone who is feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call the Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK.