I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to promote the welfare and education of children by prohibiting use of smartphones by students in primary schools; and to provide for related matters.
I am delighted to introduce the Education (Smartphones in Primary Schools) Bill 2024. This Bill is key to child protection. Powerful technology has been developed in recent years by large tech companies for commercial interests. This technology has become really central to the lives of very young children, but there seems to be no effort on the part of Government to properly regulate this technology in the context of the effect it has on young children.
New technology is often a great addition to the lives of citizens. We do want our children to be able to understand how to use it in their lives, but we also want such technology to be safe. Putting the power of a smartphone with full access to the Internet and social media into the hands of young children and sending them to schools where they can use that content in the company of their peers is a very dangerous thing. That has to be recognised.
Communication is one of the most important skills that any human being has, whether it is within the family, in our social lives or in our work lives. We need strong communication skills. However, we often see children in schools, on school buses and in school yards when eating their lunches who, even at a very young age, are glued to their mobile phones. It is very clear that they are not able to develop their communication skills as a result of that. We also hear that children's concentration is negatively impacted by the use of mobile phones. The idea that phones can ping in the middle of class and distract children from the work is well known to be a challenge for teachers. A study carried out in Britain shows that schools which do not allow mobile phone use can equate to at least one week extra tuition annually as a result of a lack of distraction.
Mobile phones are extremely powerful. Even for adults, they can be extremely addictive. Social networks are physically and psychologically addictive. Self-disclosure, likes, engagements and so on stimulate parts of the brain that experience pleasure. The need for validation and the fear of missing out can be really strong with very young children. Social media can be addictive by design. Companies like Facebook are accused of creating content that is purposely addictive in the same way cigarette companies tried to plug young children into their products years ago. Mobile phones and social media have led to a significant increase in anxiety and depression among young children. Online bullying is a big factor in young children's lives. The Department of Education has an action plan to try to challenge online bullying. The Department accepts that parents see online bullying as one of the biggest challenges in their children's lives. Incredibly, many children spend about 25 hours a week on their mobile phones. Studies have shown that young children spend twice as much time on their mobile phones as they do speaking to their parents. Being constantly on their phones is isolating them, challenging their mental health and leading to a significantly sedentary lifestyle. The latter gives rise to obesity, which leads to bad health.
The idea of childhood is being radically altered by this new technology. Children are losing their innocence. They are not playing outside with their friends as much. The development of their imagination is being stymied by this new technology and, in reality, by commercial algorithms that are directing them in certain directions.
Much of the content on mobile phones is simply not suitable for ten- and 11-year-old children. Mobile phones being brought into schools means that those children whose parents have not given them permission to have phones are also exposed to some of this content. Incredibly, there has been an increase in the number of children who are sexually abusing other children. We have seen where children murder and sexually assault other children. The provision of hard-core and violent pornography to children at a young age is deeply damaging to them.
There have been some good community responses in respect of this issue. The parents of children in St. Kevin's National School in Greystones have developed arrangements to try push back against this. All of this is good, but parents desperately need help. The Government's response so far has been completely wishy-washy. The Government recognises that there is a serious problem but the only help provided is to say that it will create some kind of task force that will provide support to parents who might want to create voluntary arrangements in their children's schools. We need to go further than that. I would like to see the State go further than I have gone with this Bill. However, it is a really good start in the context of giving children back their childhood and protecting them at such a really important age.
