Cyber Safety/STEM

As mentioned in the this section of the newsletter previously we are excited to bring to your attention a local organisation called ‘The Phone Pledge’. This is a group of parents from the Campaspe Shire and Murray River Council area who are working to change the norm when it comes to children and the increasing use of both smartphones and social media. As you will no doubt have witnessed over the last decade, the age at which children are receiving their first smartphone is falling. In 2021, 35% of children under the age of 12 had their own smartphone. It is highly likely this figure has increased.

In a nutshell, the main concerns about children using smartphones and social media are as follows.

• The increased incidents of major depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide in adolescents since the introduction of the smartphone.
• The decreasing time children and teens are spending with each other in person, leading to poorer social skills and less deep and trusted friendships.
• An increase in the number of children and adolescents who report feeling lonely since the introduction of the smartphone.
• Increasingly easy access to inappropriate content for children, such as pornography, violent videos, and easy access to strangers.

What does ‘The Phone Pledge’ do?

One of our their main aims, simply, is to start a conversation. Currently information is available to families and interested parties through (ironically) Instagram and Facebook (@thephonepledge). They are also encouraging parents and guardians who wish to delay the smartphone for their children to pledge not to do so by using the Wait Mate platform. 

Over the last few months they have seen real momentum within our communities with parents speaking up about their concern over children and smartphones/social media. Their ultimate goal as an organisation is to educate and connect parents and guardians, and give them confidence to delay the smartphone. If many of a child’s peers do not have access to this technology, it lessens the issue of feeling ‘left out’. In an ideal world, if ALL parents stopped access to this technology until a later age, the issue would no longer exist.

The Phone Pledge group are always striving to stay on top of the latest research in this space, and want to share their insights and research with others in any way they would find useful. They can provide research summaries, and are available to speak at any tech information events you may hold.