Many parents can probably agree that there will be a lot of screen time for the children, perhaps especially during the summer holidays. The organization “Smartphone free childhood” thinks the situation is so serious that all children under the age of 14 should live without smartphones. The movement was started by two mothers in the UK, and has spread around the world.
Mental problems
Now the association has also come to Sweden.
– Our children are worth protecting. They shouldn’t have to have all these mental problems that they do, says Roksana Schnittger, founder Smartphone-free childhood Sweden.
– A smartphone gives you access to the internet, platforms and more. And you have it with you everywhere. I have seen children who are outside playing and holding a phone in their hand. It’s really crazy. It has become an addiction problem here, continues Roksana Schnittger.
The founder is supported by researchers. Lisa Thorell, professor of psychology, thinks there are overwhelming benefits to removing smartphones from children.
– I spontaneously think that it sounds like a good idea actually. We know that there are many negative effects of our screens. We see effects of social media, with, for example, body image, anxiety, depression, low mood and things like that, says Lisa Thorell at the Karolinska Institutet.
There may be profits
But while smartphones and social media are mostly negative for children and young people in the developmental years, there can be gains on an individual level according to Thorell.
– We see, for example, in Hbtqi issues that people who think about their sexuality, for example, can find community and support via social media.
Although the idea of a smartphone-free childhood is good, the professor believes that there is a risk of exclusion.
– I would actually think that it will be a little difficult to implement. The, I think, small group that is completely smartphone-free will perhaps unfortunately suffer negative effects and become socially excluded because everyone else around them still uses smartphones, says Lisa Thorell.
Roksana Schnittger, founder of Smartphone-free childhood, does not think that mobile phones need to be removed immediately, but that it can be done step by step.
– Try having a dinner where everyone puts away their mobile phones. Don’t have phones when you go to bed. Then you can start pushing the limits.