With South African children increasingly tethered to the digital world, unsupervised access to smartphones and tablets presents a growing array of risks that demand urgent attention.
Experts emphasise the importance of delaying smartphone access and strategies for fostering safer digital habits in families.
Anna Collard, senior vice president of Content Strategy and evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa, alongside Kate Farina, founder of BeInTouch, stresses that delaying the smartphone means delaying the risks.
Their call echoes findings from a recent survey conducted by BeInTouch, revealing that a staggering 62% of learners from Grades 4 to 11 own a phone or tablet by the age of 10, while 83% have a social media account by the time they reach 12. Alarmingly, 65% of these device users are active at night, and 77% lack parental controls or filters.
It is also reported that 67% of respondents reported instances of cyberbullying or interactions with strangers on social media.
Despite existing safety measures and age restrictions on digital products aimed at children, social media and technology companies operate with minimal regulation in comparison to other industries such as film.
The industry enforces a 13-year age limit that fails to reflect the nuances of child psychology or neuroscience and is primarily driven by US privacy laws that permit data collection from children aged 13 and older. Young users represent a lucrative source of revenue for social media platforms.
This profit-driven approach starkly contrasts with genuine concern for child welfare, as evidenced by a recent Cybersafe Kids study that found that 82% of children between ages 8 and 12 possess their social media and instant messaging accounts.
In response to the alarming trends, the volunteer-led social movement SFC, formerly known as Smartphone-Free Childhood South Africa, has emerged as a beacon of hope.
This initiative provides parents with tools to resist the mounting pressure to introduce smartphones and social media before their children are developmentally ready.
Through their digital parent pact, families are encouraged to collectively postpone smartphone introduction until high school. Once 10 parents from the same school and grade commit online, the pact unlocks, fostering a supportive network for families seeking to make technology changes together.
It is revealed that all 18 000 registered primary schools in South Africa have been integrated into this pact, further strengthening the community effort.
The campaign not only seeks to relax individual pressures on parents, often on mothers, who may be facing tech-induced challenges alone but also calls for more inclusive conversations about technology.
To combat these risks, parents need to combine internet safety measures with essential cybersecurity practices. Strategies to safeguard children’s well-being include:
* Enabling parental controls on devices.
* Regularly updating device software to protect against vulnerabilities.
* Educating children on the importance of digital privacy.
* Teaching password best practices.
* Instilling awareness on how to recognise suspicious activity online.
* Fostering digital mindfulness and critical thinking to promote safe online habits.
By adopting these approaches, families can better protect their children’s emotional and digital security while ensuring that technology is utilised responsibly and safely.
The Star