Experts recommend delaying first smartphone until age 16

A group of experts, backed by the Barcelona Medical Association, has called for the first use of smartphones by children to be delayed until the age of 16. 

The document emphasizes the need to "protect" children from the "harmful use of technology" through a series of recommendations aimed at authorities, operators and families.

While the experts made it clear that they do not want to "demonize" social media, they have urged operators to take responsibility for protecting children.

"Childhood and adolescence are periods of critical brain development that require special protection and attention," the document states.

The main recommendation for parents is to delay giving their children a smartphone until they are 16 years old. If communication is necessary, they suggest providing a basic phone instead of a smartphone. 

For schools, the experts support a ban on smartphones and encourage creating phone-free spaces during playtime, mealtimes, and school trips.

They also urge the education community to implement measures that reduce the social pressure around the age at which children get their first phone, as well as to increase lessons on digital literacy.

Among other measures, they also call for operators to offer services such as Wi-Fi for children, with pre-activated filters for dangerous content.

In January, the Catalan government announced that it would ban the use of mobile phones in primary schools -between the ages of 6 and 12,- and for educational purposes in secondary schools -between the ages of 12 and 16.-

The ban, which went into effect this school year, was met with skepticism from parents who had advocated a total ban until the age of 16.

In fact, the new measures were enacted in large part because parents against early cell phone use formed a Telegram group to organize. 

To read more about the issue, have a listen to this episode of our podcast Filling the Sink.