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Amid a high-profile public debate over phone usage, Minister Norma Foley received more than two dozen pieces of correspondence from concerned parents, political colleagues, teachers, and school principals about use of mobiles.
In one, a psychotherapist said she was deeply concerned about how her young children would grow up in a world where they would be exposed to highly-sexualised material online from as early as five or six years of age.
An email said: “What is the Government plan to protect our children from this terrible threat? This country has a bad record when it comes to protection of women and children.”
Another parent pleaded that the department “give our kids back their childhood”, saying their access to smartphones needed to be curtailed.
“I’m not suggesting an outright ban of phones, but a reduction in hours where kids can access them would help,” they said.
Not all correspondence was in favour of controlling use, however, with one person writing about how smartphones were in some cases used to control medical devices for health conditions.
Another teacher with 40 years of experience said they had never seen a primary school child with a phone in a classroom and that a ban would achieve nothing.
“Let parents and principals work this out together … we are not living in a dictatorship. I think it’s a very unwise move even though I hate phones as much as everyone else.”
Another said that lower-tech phones should be facilitated for organising school pick-ups and other urgent communication.
“We are lagging behind,” they wrote, “I know it’s been mentioned but can we get it over the line sooner rather than later?” One email claimed that Ireland’s “unnecessarily” long school closures during the pandemic had already affected the mental health of younger people here.
On banning mobile phones, they wrote: “Please don’t leave it to the next government to take this much needed action, as it will be too later for many teenagers who are struggling.”
Higher Education Minister Simon Harris also wrote about what he called the “brilliant community initiative” at a school in Greystones in his Wicklow constituency to reduce mobile use among youngsters.
Meanwhile, one parent said it was somewhat hypocritical for schools to be discouraging use of phones and social media while themselves having their own Facebook and Instagram pages.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Education said its recent initiative to discourage parents from buying smartphones for primary school kids had involved working closely with experts as well as schools and parents.
She said: “Discussions took place with the National Parents Council, with school leaders involved with similar initiatives, including those underway in Greystones and Wexford, and other stakeholders.
“The primary focus is on supporting parents outside of school, through an approach that will be led by parents’ associations in collaboration with the respective schools. Schools are being asked to facilitate the initiative through distributing relevant materials, and schools also have expertise in the area that will no doubt be of benefit to their parents.”
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