Want kids to be safe? Then ditch their smartphones.

Katherine Martinko is a Canadian writer and author of Childhood Unplugged: Practical Advice To Get Kids Off Screens and Find Balance

Some highlights that will encourage reading the article:

The author describes a frightening scenario she heard from parents: kids taking pictures or videos of classmates while they’re undressing in change rooms before gym or swimming. Within seconds, there were sensual images of naked or nearly naked kids on multiple personal devices.

The author sees the irony of the situation that the kids were likely given smartphones by their parents to keep them “safe,” and yet those same devices were used to undermine the safety of their peers and even their own selves.

The most common justification for giving kids smartphones is safety.

“Stranger danger” should be a concern. This is a good reason to steer clear of smart phones. Cybertip.ca, Canada’s national tip line for reporting online sexual exploitation of children, reports online sexual luring increased by 815 per cent between 2018 and 2022, from 220 to over 2,000 incidents. Results of exposure are described.

Question: Do children need less protection in the real world and more protection in the online world? Smartphones make kids less alert to their surroundings. The author believes that kids are safer without smart phones at least until the age of 16.

N.B. The article was published 8 months ago so may no longer be current – maybe…