Children do not see internet harm, campaigner says

Natasha Devon said some teenagers felt they had been given a smartphone at too young an age

A mental health campaigner has been giving talks to Jersey's schools and parents to highlight the dangers of social media and how to cut down time spent on it.

Natasha Devon said teenagers did not see the harm of social media but felt they had been given a smartphone from too young an age.

She said: "There's an advantage of the fact that we're all trying to grapple with this at the same time."

Ms Devon also spoke to concerned parents, saying there were clear differences in how the younger and older generations approached social media.

Jersey parent Sinead Peacock-Brennan said she learnt new ideas about how to approach social media use at home.

She said: "I like the idea of the digital sunset at the end of the day, so helping people sleep and restricting technology use at the end of the day.

"That seems sensible in terms of mental health, as well as devices.

"It's scary thinking about some of the impact of social media, particularly on kids."

Parent Sinead Peacock-Brennan says she has rules around phone usage in the home

Earlier this year Education Minister Rob Ward sent out a letter to all parents urging them not not to send their children to school with a phone.

He also set out new polices which prohibit the use of phones at any time on school premises.

Ward said that he had had "positive" feedback on the new polices, which were introduced at the start of the new school year.

He said: "People are starting to see the benefits of that, and that is exactly what we need to do - we need to build on where is successful.

"If we can be successful to take control of that situation in our schools, we can extend that out to later on and we can help parents outside of schools."