Primary schools nationwide are introducing smartphone bans, as the usage of smartphone technology increases among children as young as five.
The smartphone debate has been prevalent since the rise of the digital age in Australia, now focusing on age appropriateness at primary schools; ultimately, how young is too young for a smartphone at school?
For educational psychologist and Melburnian mother of two Kathy Astrinakis, prep is simply too young for a smartphone at school. “Ages five and six are far too young for smartphones at school. They are not age appropriate.”
There are many reasons why Astrinakis believes this. Ultimately, children at ages five and six are too immature to handle the limitless accessibility of information provided by a smartphone. Unlike a ‘dumb’ phone that does not have access to the internet and web applications, smartphones provide young children with infinite access to information which Astrinakis believes children “are not emotionally and cognitively ready for”. She further claims that there is also an after-effect of this accessibility in terms of wrongfully exposing content to classmates.
Smartphones also hold social implications for primary school students and their friends. Astrinakis states that having a smartphone can produce a “social ripple affect”, whereby students without smartphones feel excluded and feel it a mandatory need to also attain a smartphone. Jenny Radesky, a clinical instructor in Developmental Behavioural Paediatrics at Boston University Medical Centre is also concerned about childhood development upon the usage of smartphones.
In a recent report released by the medical centre in February, Radesky alluded to the idea that new age technological devices “may replace hands-on activities important for the development of sensory motor and visual motor skills” which are used to develop the empathy, social and problem-solving skills of a child.
For Julie Melemenis – Melbourne mother of three primary school-aged children – the social effect extends beyond exclusion and development by filtering into the way our children socialise with one other.
Melemenis is calling for socialisation on the playground rather than cyber space.
“There is plenty time for being obsessed with phones in adulthood – let kids be kids!”
Other topics raised by the debate include security issues. While some parents feel children who walk to school alone need smartphones for safety, schools are ultimately concerned with the security of the phone and the ability for theft.
The smartphone debate is multidimensional in nature. Gone are the days when real time conversation was more prevalent than technological communication, and where children were left at school to learn at a traditional pace. As the presence of the digital age grows ever looming, so will the debates that surround it, and the smartphone debate is a prime example of this. While opinions vary, Astrinakis reminds parents that ultimately, having a smartphone in primary school is too premature an experience.