Liberal Democrats Group Motion

This Council calls for restrictions on the use of smartphones in all primary and secondary schools for children up to the age of 16 years within Oxford

MP Josh MacAlister’s Safer Phones Bill^[1] has been watered down to exclude the ban on smartphones in schools. He reports, “It’s time to address the negative effects of excessive screen time and social media use on children’s health, sleep and learning. Parents are crying out for legislation to support them in keeping their children safe from online harm. Gen Z themselves regret how long they spend on social media”.

Gillian McDermott Head of Cutteslowe Primary School points to Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation,^[2] showing overwhelmingly the harm done to children through excessive use of smartphones. The author examined what happened to young people in the early 2010s that triggered the surge of anxiety and depression, social isolation and cyber-bullying and academic disengagement from 2012 which in some cases have contributed to self harm and death since then.

The LibDem MP Max Wilkinson^[3] says regulations are far behind reality and technology. Barnardos^[4] say that the average teenager is spending up to five hours a day on social media. Ofcom research^[5] found that 71% of children aged between 5 and 15 used a smartphone to get online in 2023. 75% of parents had concerns related to content inappropriate for their children’s age. 73% was adult or sexual content.

Eric Schmit^[6] the ex-boss of Google and Alphabet emphasised the use of smartphones can be safe but need to be moderated. “Why,” he asks, “would we run such a large uncontrolled experiment on the most important people in the world, which is the next generation?”

The council recognises that digital devices (e.g. a tablet, camera or video recorder) may be permitted for certain academic activities or research but should be provided by the school if required for learning. Moreover, students with specific learning needs may be permitted to use a digital device without social media access as a support tool.

Finally, this Council recognises that many parents in our city have signed up to the parent pact for a Smart-Phone Free Childhood – a collective agreement to delay getting kids smartphones until at least 14, and social media 16.

This Council:

1. Supports the principles of a Smartphone Free Childhood
2. Regrets that Josh McAlister’s Bill has been watered down.
3. Notes that Secretaries of State for Education have favoured mandatory limits on mobile phone use in schools over the last fifteen years.
4. Asks the Leader to write to the Secretary of State for Education urging support for the original intentions of the McAlister Bill.
5. Asks the Leader to write to all schools in the city to offer the council’s support and encouragement to continue to develop policies addressing concerns related to smartphone and social media use in schools.
6. Ask the Leader of the Council to look into whether the City Council can do this and implement as possible.

This motion was not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished.