‘Surrounded by a billion strangers’: The risks from your child’s first smartphone – and how to tackle them
By Brad Young, Money reporter
If your child is approaching secondary school, you might be preparing to spend hundreds of pounds on their first smartphone.
But choosing a costly contract is just the first in a series of difficult decisions facing parents as their child gains online autonomy.
While phones bring huge benefits in terms of connectivity and independence, they also expose children to risks ranging from accidently running up bills to sexual exploitation and AI-enabled bullying.
Sky News spoke with experts in the field about what trends parents should be aware of, and what tools they can use to tackle them.
There are four categories of risks to children according Childnet, a UK-based charity for child safety online.
These are content, such as pornography or gambling, contact, like grooming or cyberbullying, commerce, where children have mistakenly racked up huge bills, and conduct, which includes what information a child shares online.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has revealed “a really sharp rise in young people who are being sexually exploited and groomed over the internet” without leaving their home, said Kate Edwards, the charity’s associate head of child safety online.
This refers to incidents where a child is directed to take part in their own abuse, which may be filmed or photographed and shared.
Ms Edwards said young people have also been self-reporting instances of sextortion, where they “have been tricked into sharing a sexual image of themselves and then given a ransom demand” under the threat of sharing the photograph.
The charity has received phone calls from children reporting generative AI being used to bully, groom or medically misdiagnose children, as well as calls raising concerns over pro-eating disorder or pro-suicide content.
“The age of onset for an eating disorder can be quite young… if it’s around a similar age where someone might get their first phone, then it is important for parents to be aware of the risks,” said Umairah Malik, clinical advice coordinator at the UK’s leading eating disorder charity, Beat.
The risk of an eating disorder developing is highest for children aged 13 to 17 years, said the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Video content shared on social media is particularly hard to regulate, with those that fixate on body image or what an influencer eats in a day causing disordered behaviours to develop among vulnerable viewers.
‘We gave him a loaded gun’
Social media played a role in the murder of Amanda Stephens’ son, Olly, aged 13, who was lured to a field near his Reading home and stabbed to death in 2021 following an online dispute.
Ms Stephens now believes the risks posed by smartphones are too great for children to own one.
“I look back to it, I felt almost proud as we gave Olly his first phone. Now I feel like we gave him a loaded gun,” she said.
“He was exposed to horrendous violence, threats, bullying, under our roof.”
During the trial of two 14-year-old boys and a 13-year-old girl, Ms Stephens said she learned there was little policing on social media of violent language or sharing images of knives.
“In the safety of your home, they are surrounded by a billion strangers.”
She’s not the only one in favour of a blanket ban – the House of Commons Education Committee has advised the government to consider legislating against mobile phones for under-16s.
As it stands, phone ownership is near universal among children by age 12, according to Ofcom.
But there are tools parents can use.
“There are many tools out there to help them. I know it can feel very scary when you hear about all those risks,” said Ms Edwards.
“What is important to bring across is while there are all of those risks, that does not mean that every child that uses a smartphone is going to come across those risks and that there are only risks to using this technology. There are also many benefits.”
What can parents do to increase safety?
Ms Edwards said parents should have open conversations with their children, working with them to decide on restrictions and breaking down barriers of authority between parent and child.
And whatever rules are in place, the most important thing is to “let your child know their safety comes before any rule”.
A common issue raised by children via Childline is online harm or abuse while breaking a family rule – such as using a device at night. The children were therefore fearful of getting in trouble so did not speak up, she said.
Ms Edwards said parents can contact the mobile phone operator and let them know it is a child’s phone, and they will put additional barriers in place including blocks on content or spending.
At home, internet service providers offer tools to set up limits on what can be accessed via the WiFi.
CEO of Childnet International Will Gardener pointed to Apple’s Family Sharing account and Google’s Family Link, which connect a child’s phone with their parents, enabling some control over down-time, such as switching off certain apps within particular timeframes.
They can also be used to approve payments, ensure requests for app downloads and monitor usage.
Apps also have their own safety mechanisms, said Ms Edwards, including whether someone can contact or share things about your child, or whether they can game with other people.
Parents and children should also be aware of what support mechanisms are available.
The NSCC’s safety hub has more information on how to keep children safe online, while their partnership with Vodaphone has produced a toolkit for thinking about your child’s first phone.
Children can confidentially report sexual images or videos to Childline and the IWF’s Report Remove, which will work to remove them from the internet.
Any adults concerned about a child’s safety or wellbeing can contact the NSPCC Helpline at [email protected] or by calling 0808 800 5000. Children can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or childline.org.uk.
If you’re worried about your own or someone else’s health, you can contact Beat on 0808 801 0677 or beateatingdisorders.org.uk.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK.
