The Better Phone Project: First phone co-created for children by parents to protect their mental wellbeing

HMD is co-creating a new phone with parents - to tackle the impact of smartphone use and social media on the wellbeing of children and Generation Z and create the choice needed to find balance

• Global survey of 10,000 parents claims harmful impact of smartphone use and social media apps on the mental wellbeing of their children
• More than half of parents regret handing over a smartphone to their child
• 70% of parents admit their smartphone-free childhood meant they engaged more with their family
• Almost 75% of parents fear smartphones expose their children to internet dangers
• Almost half of parents admit mobile phone use has changed their child’s personality
• HMD plans to tackle the issue with a suite of new devices – including a new phone– and wants parents to be a part of creating a solution that works for them as part of The Better Phone Project.

Tech innovator HMD is creating a phone as an alternative for a smartphone to give parents control over their child’s screen time and social media use.

The aim is to preserve the mental health of the next generation with a phone parents have co-created in order to protect their children and provide better balance.

The digital detox space is one HMD is familiar with having spearheaded the dumbphone trend by reimagining feature phone classics for the modern consumer seeking to limit their screen time and social media use.

The phone manufacturer is now seeking to work with parents to co-create a phone and other new solutions which will serve as credible substitutes for a smartphone and give parents control over their child’s screen time and social media use.

It is hoped the new device will also appeal to Generation Z who have embraced the digital detox space.

HMD is also working with a number of experts, campaigners and parent support groups to better understand the solutions needed. All will be involved in global webinars and forums to ensure collaboration and co-creation is at the heart of HMD’s The Better Phone Project. They can sign-up to be involved at https://www.hmd.com/en_int/better-phone-project.

As part of The Better Phone Project, HMD commissioned new global research to provide insight into the dilemmas parents face when it comes to their children and smartphone use.¹

The findings revealed 11 is the average age when a parent hands over a smartphone to their child for the first time – but many confessed they wished they had waited longer.

The worldwide survey of 10,000 parents in the UK, US, India, Germany and Australia found more than half of those questioned said they regret exposing their child to a smartphone at such a young age. A third of those who responded cited the negative effects of the device and changes in personality as the key reasons for this. Concerns have been raised consistently about the impact social media apps, which often go hand-in-hand with smartphones, have on children.

A staggering 70% of parents questioned admitted their smartphone-free childhood meant they engaged more with their family - however, it is quality time their children don’t experience: 55% say their child’s phone use is a source of big arguments and a third have cried over their child’s phone obsession.

Some 64% of parents questioned said smartphone use negatively impacts their child’s sleep, 61% think it reduces the amount of physical activity they take, and more than half (54%) worried that it will reduce the amount of time they spend socialising with friends.

With more than half of parents agreeing smartphones can have a positive impact on their children and benefit them educationally - including allowing them to keep in touch with friends - parents clearly face a dilemma.

Tech innovator HMD is now striving to understand these challenges and offer a suite of new and innovative solutions which could work for parents, their children, Generation Z or anyone who is looking for credible alternatives to a smartphone.

HMD is also keen to work with anyone who is interested in this subject and would like to be part of the journey to create change and new solutions. They can sign-up to be involved at https://www.hmd.com/en_int/better-phone-project.

Other key points to emerge from the global survey include almost 75% of parents fearing smartphones expose their children to internet dangers, with more than half admitting they don’t know what their children get up to when using their phones.

Almost half of parents believe mobile phone use has changed their child’s personality, with a third claiming their child has body image issues due to their phones.

UK Case Study: Alison Winsborough, an Assistant Principal at a school in Dorset & her 12-year-old daughter Edie.

Alison said: “It is a shame to see children can’t just live their lives, for example they can’t be on the beach without letting the world know where they are online. Or you see girls who have been influenced to have their hair in a certain way, for example, because they’ve seen it online. Children have to be validated by their life online.

“Smartphones are a source of arguments because of the way in which messages can be construed and the potential for antagonism which wouldn’t happen when you’re talking face-to-face.

“People express themselves much more hastily when messaging and people say things they wouldn’t normally say and they are more vehement than they would otherwise be.

“There have been times when we as a family have expressed ourselves crossly when messaging using a smartphone which we wouldn’t have done if we had been speaking in person.

“Smartphones are used by children to keep in touch, it’s how they communicate, it’s all online. “I would like things to go back to being simpler and for parents to have more control.”

Edie said: “I was 9 when I was given my first smartphone but I did not have any social media apps on it until the last year and now I have Snapchat, Instagram and a Tik Tok profile.

“I like my smartphone as it’s a way of connecting with my friends; I like that I can always just message a friend and I don’t have to wait until I see them at school.

“I do spend more time on my phone during the school holidays and I can be on it for hours, scrolling on Tik Tok, messaging.

My life does revolve around my smartphone: when I’m doing something it’s always there and when I’m not doing anything, it’s always there!

“Without a smartphone I would have more freedom in the sense that I could go out and enjoy yourself and not take pictures and just be with one person without messaging multiple other people.”