Voluntary Agreement Among 8 Elementary School Parent Associations
"Parents May Find It Easier to Say 'No' to Their Children"
As the age of smartphone use continues to decrease, a village in Ireland has attracted attention by launching an experiment that prohibits the use of smartphones both at school and at home until children reach middle school.
On the 4th (local time), according to The Guardian and local media The Irish Times, the parents' associations of eight elementary schools in Greystones, a coastal city on the east coast of Ireland, recently voluntarily agreed to prohibit their children from using smartphones until they enter middle school. This city, with a population of 18,000, has eight elementary schools. In other words, all the elementary schools in the village have decided to participate in this experiment.
Local media reported, "While individual schools have implemented policies to prevent smartphone use outside of school, this is the first time an entire village has taken collective action."
This experiment is being promoted as part of the village's well-being initiative. Even if measures are taken to prevent smartphone use at school, seeing friends use them in daily life often leads parents to eventually buy smartphones for their children. This initiative aims to prevent such situations.
Rachel Harper, principal of St. Patrick's National School, explained, "Childhood is becoming shorter and shorter, and many children do not feel emotionally ready to operate smart devices," noting that the starting age for smartphone use has dropped to 9 years old. She added, "The goal of this project is to work together so that parents of 5th and 6th graders without smartphones do not feel a burden on their minds," emphasizing, "The more parents participate, the more this will become the new standard for children in this area."
However, she added that the school's policy is not 'anti-smartphone' or anti-technology, and that a time will be provided for education and discussions with experts at the 6th grade level, just before entering middle school.
Local parents believe that through these measures, children will not feel alienated even without smartphones. Laura Byrne, who has children in the lower grades of elementary school, said, "If everyone participates, children will not feel like they are strange, and it will be much easier to say 'no' to your children," adding, "That way, we can protect children's innocence for a longer time."
Stephen Donnelly, Ireland's Minister of Health, wrote in a local media op-ed that such policies being implemented in Greystones should be introduced nationwide, emphasizing, "Ireland must ensure that children and adolescents are not targeted or harmed in their interactions with the digital world."
This move by Ireland comes amid warnings from Europe, the United States, and elsewhere about children being exposed to smartphones at an early age and adolescents using them indiscriminately. In particular, various social networking services (SNS) such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram have been criticized for damaging their mental health.
The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) stated at the end of last month, "There is extensive evidence that SNS harms children's health and happiness," adding, "A nationwide mental health crisis among young people is emerging, with SNS identified as a major contributing factor. This is an urgent issue that must be addressed." They also criticized, "SNS use plays a role in causing and sustaining body image issues, affecting eating behaviors and sleep quality, and leading to social comparison and lowered self-esteem."
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