‘Each year you delay giving a phone is a big win’: child screen-time solutions from around the world
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From stringent legislation to grassroots action, Australia and Spain lead the way in tackling children’s use of mobile phones and tablets. If the advent of the affordable mobile phone has given parents a new way to stay in touch with their children, it has also prompted countless arguments about screen time, safety and social media.
![[Two small children with phones]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/92b0650860646bbbf1b174746b5349d700efaa7f/0_0_6720_4032/master/6720.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
As concerns over phone use grow – and the age at which children get their first mobile continues to fall – countries around the world are weighing up how to tackle the issue in schools and at home. Nowhere has found the magic bullet, but action plans are being mooted and workarounds proposed, from stringent legislation to grassroots action.
![[Young child looking at a screen]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/884bece9c6413835f2dfc17da83c3dfb14a755fc/264_268_4833_2900/master/4833.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
As Australia and Spain prepare to pilot stringent laws to tackle the problem, our correspondents explore some of the most notable screen-time solutions. Australia made global headlines in November, when its parliament passed a law to ban under-16s from social media. But much of how it will work, and which services it will apply to, remains unclear.
While some states in Australia ban the use of mobile phones in school, the federal government’s new ban will restrict children under 16 from social media entirely by the end of this year. The legislation will empower the communications minister to determine which platforms will be restricted, but it is widely expected it will at least apply to Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
