A growing number of parents are refusing to give their children smartphones — and the movement is going global

LONDON — The evidence linking smartphone use with mental health harms in children is growing and one grassroots organization in the U.K. is supporting parents who are refraining from giving their kids the devices.

Smartphone Free Childhood, founded by Daisy Greenwell and Clare Fernyhough in February, set up various group chats for parents locally across the U.K. and grew to over 60,000 members in a few weeks, according to its website.

Interest in the movement is driven by concerns about the normalization of children with smartphones. By the age of 12, 97% of children in the U.K. have a mobile phone, according to Ofcom, a government-approved regulator for the use of communication services in the U.K.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., 42% of children had a smartphone by the age of 10, climbing to 91% by the age of 14, according to a 2021 report by Common Sense which surveyed 1,306 young people in the U.S. between the ages of eight to 18.

Parents are giving their children smartphones in an increasingly online world for various reasons including entertainment purposes, to keep track of their location, and to stay in touch with them when they leave the home. However, studies and experts highlight this is opening up the door to social media and possible mental health harms.

SFC aims to unite parents who are not giving their children smartphones to alleviate the peer pressure and isolation they might feel.

Its success has seen it expand internationally with groups set up in the U.S., Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and various other countries.

Just days after the SFC campaign was launched, the U.K. government — at the time led by the Conservative Party — issued new guidance prohibiting the use of smartphones