Smartphone Free Childhood

Smartphone Free Childhood (SFC) is a UK-based grassroots movement that advocates delaying children's access to smartphones, promoting device-free childhood until age 14. Launched in early 2024 by two parents, the campaign quickly gained national and international attention. It has registered as a UK charity and over 140.000 parents from 13.500 schools have signed a pact to delay the smartphone for their childres. It has members from over 60 countries and affiliations with similar movements in more than 30 countries, from Argentina to Uzbekistan.

History

The founding of the movement was described in The Guardian in June 2024, which highlighted the motivations and described the campaign's early traction as a response to growing parental anxiety over smartphone use among preteens. SFC began as a WhatsApp group created by two parents living in Suffolk. Initially called "Parents United for a Smartphone Free Childhood," the group aimed to connect families who wanted to delay smartphone use. After posting about the initiative on Instagram, it went viral, being reposted by public figures such as Carrie Johnson, Emma Barnett, and Sophie Winkleman. Within weeks, local SFC WhatsApp groups had formed across all UK counties.

The campaign gained momentum alongside broader cultural developments, including the publication of Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation, the Channel 4 documentary Swiped, Netflix's drama Adolescence, and legislative debates in Australia and the UK about underage access to social media.

Mission and Methods

SFC encourages parents to sign a voluntary pact pledging not to give their child a smartphone before the age of 14. The organization provides a searchable directory of local SFC groups, templates for contacting schools and network of trained speakers available to visit schools and community events.

The movement focuses on cultural change rather than legal regulation, emphasizing collective action among parents and communities.

Organisation

SFC is headquartered in Suffolk and operates as a registered UK charity. It is funded by donations from private philanthropists, including family offices. While the organization maintains a centralized infrastructure for branding and messaging, local implementation is decentralized through volunteer-led groups.

Reception

SFC has received significant media coverage. In June 2025, it was the subject of a feature-length article in The Sunday Times Magazine. The movement has been endorsed or supported by public figures including Benedict Cumberbatch, Paloma Faith, and Jack Thorne.

Criticism

SFC has faced criticism from some experts, like Sonia Livingstone, a professor of social psychology at the London School of Economics, who argued it was important to recognise the practical uses of smartphones such as using maps, doing homework and contacting parents.

The founders of SFC contend that their initiative provides parents with social support and practical tools rather than mandates, and that collective action can shift cultural expectations.

See also

• Digital detox
• Digital media use and mental health
• Internet addiction disorder
• Parental controls
• Problematic smartphone use
• Smartphone addiction
• Social media addiction

External links

• Official website