Every day we uncover more evidence of how dangerous smartphones can be for children. Smartphone ownership among children is linked to depression, anxiety and ill-health; it raises the risk of sleeplessness and an inability to focus in class; it exposes children to online grooming, cyber-bullying and to violent or pornographic adult content.  According to the world's top cyber-psychologist, Dr Mary Aiken, no child under 14 should own a smartphone because they 'facilitate the remote, covert and deviant targeting and grooming of a child'.
Experts like Dr Aiken, as well as Apple's own shareholders, agree that policing smartphones cannot be left to parents alone. Society needs laws to help parents raise children: and in a recent poll, 69% of Irish adults supported a legal minimum age for smartphone ownership.
So let's ask our government to bring in new laws which would protect children, which most parents want and which the top experts recommend. By signing this petition, you could help make this a safer world for all our children to grow up in.