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 its 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, with some introducing pouch policies. However, this can be an expensive solution that only delays the wider 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 discussed children’s social dynamics: when asked whether they could give up their smartphone individually, children often say no. When asked whether they would do it if their whole class did the same, they say yes.
What people are really signing away
Beyond names and locations, social media platforms collect data such as emotional reaction patterns, psychological vulnerabilities, body image data, and indicators of political and sexual orientation. When this was read aloud in the room, the reaction was clear: true informed consent is effectively impossible when terms and conditions are deliberately designed to obscure what is being agreed to.
Big tech hooks children early
Technology companies deliberately target younger users because it is much harder and more expensive to acquire new users after the age of 20. Since their business models rely on attracting users early, the industry is unlikely to self-regulate without significant financial consequences.
The parental control myth
Relying on parental controls can fail vulnerable children, particularly in busy households where settings may be left unconfigured or easily bypassed by tech-savvy children. Health professionals agreed that placing responsibility on parents to manage complex software allows the technology industry to avoid addressing the wider problem.
Ultimately, it should not 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 built into devices rather than simply teaching them how to navigate the settings.
The hand-me-down issue
Many children inherit old, unrestricted smartphones because it is the easiest and most affordable option 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 children under 16 resulted in more than five million accounts being closed. Meanwhile, the UK has only recently introduced its first screen guidance for children aged 0–5, a smartphone ban in schools is only now going through Parliament, and the EU is still developing verification standards.
As a result, schools and parents still urgently lack the legal protection and support they need.
The message that cuts through
Mental health messaging risks making parents defensive, often triggering an “it won’t happen to my child” response. What appears to resonate more strongly is a focus on physical health impacts, such as eyesight, posture and concentration, alongside a positive vision of what children stand to gain.
The language that resonated most in the room centred on freedom, safety and flourishing, framing the issue as “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 is voluntarily returning 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 government to lead, but building on the momentum this movement has been asking for.
