In recent months, concerns about young children having unsupervised access to the internet and social media have significantly increased. This is due to a growing body of evidence demonstrating the harmful effects and negative outcomes for developing brains in areas such as social, emotional, and educational development.

Child Psychologists, Healthcare Workers and Cyber Safety experts have highlighted the risks associated with Smartphone and Social Media use at a young age such as accessing inappropriate content, exposure to pornography, cyber bullying, extremist influencers, dangerous fads and vulnerability to contact from predators. There is also a negative effect on child development, attention span, stress levels, pleasure pathways, self-esteem, sleep patterns and mood leading to a proven increased risk of self-harm or suicide.

In response to this, the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), in conjunction with the Principal and school management, has been exploring ways to support parents/guardians in our school who wish to postpone smartphone ownership and social media access for their primary school-aged children. We conducted a survey on this topic in September, and the majority of parents who responded expressed interest in a voluntary agreement regarding smartphones and social media for their child(ren). We held a follow-up meeting in the school in April with parents where we spoke more on this.

We are offering a Voluntary Agreement for parents and guardians in our school community. Through an online form and letter, parents and guardians can choose to commit to not purchasing a personal smartphone for their child(ren) or allowing access to social media while they are in primary school. This approach has already been successfully adopted by several other primary schools in Meath and Ireland.

We understand that this is not the sole solution to the growing problem, but it is one potential tool that may be useful for parents and guardians who choose to use it. For example, if a child comes home saying that everyone in their class has a phone except them, parents can confidently explain that only a certain portion of the class has smartphones or social media access, and the rest will not have them until secondary school or later.