Xplora hosted a UK roundtable of campaigners, educators, health professionals, policy experts and journalists to discuss the state of children’s technology, what the evidence demands, and what comes next. Here is a snapshot of the discussion.
Some key data:
-
90% of UK children own a mobile phone by age 11 (1)
-
54% of parents wished they had waited longer to give their child a smartphone (2)
-
65% have concerns about their child’s phone use and impact on mental health (2)
-
65% say there are no good alternatives available (2)
A public health emergency
Attendees were unanimous: smartphone addiction in children has reached crisis level. Experts cited sharp rises in attention disorders, deteriorating eyesight, physical health issues, and a loss of outdoor play - with government regulation moving too slowly to match the scale of harm.
Schools are moving now
Brickphone-only policies are slowly being adopted across UK schools right now, with some introducing ‘pouch’ policies (which is an expensive solution that only prolongs an outstanding issue). Where full bans have been introduced, children themselves have welcomed the change with older students saying they wished it had happened sooner. The room also agreed about children’s social dynamic: when asked if they could do without their smartphone individually, children say no but when asked if they would do it if their whole class got rid of them, they say yes.
What people are really signing away
Beyond name and location, social media platforms collect data such as emotional reaction patterns, psychological vulnerabilities, body image data, and political and sexual orientation indicators. When read aloud in the room, the reaction was evident - true informed consent is effectively impossible when terms and conditions are deliberately designed to obscure what’s being agreed to.
Big tech hooks children early
Tech companies deliberately target younger users because it’s much harder and more expensive to onboard/win new users after age 20. Since their business model relies on acquiring users early, the industry will never self-regulate without major financial consequences.
Parental control myth
Relying on parental controls fails vulnerable children, especially in busy households where settings are left unconfigured or easily bypassed by tech-savvy kids. Health professionals agree that forcing parents to manage complex software is just a way for the tech industry to avoid real solutions. Ultimately it shouldn’t be an individual’s responsibility to make a systemic environment safe. To truly protect children, we must champion critical digital literacy over basic functional digital literacy, helping them understand the traps of devices rather than how to navigate their settings.
Hand-me-down issue
Most children inherit old, unrestricted smartphones because it’s the easiest and cheapest path for parents. This makes the issue a systemic failure rather than an individual parenting problem.
The regulation gap
While the legislative landscape is shifting, it is moving too slowly. In Australia, last year’s social media ban for under-16s has resulted in more than five million accounts being closed. Meanwhile the UK only recently introduced its first screen guidance for 0-5 year-olds, the smartphone ban in schools is only just going through parliament, and the EU is still developing verification standards. As a result, schools and parents still urgently lack the legal protection and backing they need.
The message that cuts through
Mental health messaging risks making parents defensive, often triggering an “it won’t happen to my child” mentality. What actually moves people is looking at physical health impacts (eyesight, posture, focus) and a positive vision of what children gain. The language that resonated most in the room was freedom, safety, flourishing - framing “permission, not prohibition.”
What’s next? The brick phone movement
Schools are adopting smartphone free policies, parents are actively seeking alternatives, and a generation of older teenagers are voluntarily reverting to simpler technology. What the movement needs is a product that is visually distinct, safe by design, and credible enough for schools, parents and policymakers to rally around. Xplora is stepping into that space: not waiting for the government to lead, but building on the momentum this movement has been asking for.
(1) https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2024-0103
(2) https://www.hmd.com/en_int/better-phone-project
