Published 18.58
Children under the age of 13 should not have a smart phone, according to the Public Health Agency.
The new recommendation is not only good, says the Internet Foundation.
– There are several sides to this coin, says Jannike Tillå, head of communications and community benefit.
The Public Health Authority (FHM) was commissioned by the government in April to investigate when children should get their own smart phone at the earliest – and on Thursday the authority came up with a recommendation: Children under the age of 13 should not have their own smart phones.
The recommendation was met with mixed feelings at the Internet Foundation.
– Children’s digital everyday life is an important issue and many parents are looking for support, says Jannike Tillå, who is the organisation’s head of communication and social benefit.
– At the same time, it is not the technology itself, the phone in this case, that is the problem, but how it is used and which digital environments the children are in.
Broader discussion
Tillå wants to see a larger and broader discussion about the online habits of children and young people.
– The Internet is a central part of children’s lives, both in terms of social life and learning. We need to talk about more than one ban.
– Parents must get better support and children must also develop their skills, because at some point they will be introduced to the digital society they live in.
Risk of exclusion
According to FHM, 90 percent of all ten-year-olds in Sweden have their own smart phone. Jannike Tillå believes that the new recommendation can lead to children being excluded.
– That risk exists, and we must not forget the advantages that come with a smartphone either. It can be a security for parents to have location services, so that you can see where your child is.
– The most important thing is that it does not stop at the fact that technology is bad, but that this is about what the children encounter online, she says.
