Photo: 123RF
Despite the known harm smartphones can cause children, New Zealand has a culture of giving them access to these devices at a young age, Samantha Marsh, from the University of Auckland's Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences says.
Kiwi kids are among the heaviest users of screens in the world. Māori and those with lower socio-economic backgrounds are overrepresented. But there's a global push of parents refusing to give children smartphones.
It's driven by research showing the link between mental and physical health problems in children with smartphone and social media use.
Daisy Greenwell formed a group called Smartphone Free Childhood in the UK, and it has taken off, she told RNZ's Saturday Morning.
"Within a week, there was one in every county in Britain, and 1000s of school groups within those and there are now 150,000 parents in our community," she said.
The idea that it's too late to do anything is exactly what big tech would want, she explained.
"They've gone unregulated since they started, but we didn't know when they first came out what effect they would have on children and childhood.
"And now we do, and the evidence is very clear that it's not great for children, and we need to do something about it," she said.
"I think we've done a very poor job in New Zealand, there's not been a lot of research in this area, of letting parents know that there is an alternative," Marsh said.
There are similar groups to Greenwell's in New Zealand pushing the same message.
"Unplugged Rebels, who are the grassroots parents' group, who are pushing for change in this area.
"And we've created a group recently, Before 16, a collective of individuals with expertise ranging from wellbeing academia all the way to tech, and we're really wanting a social media free childhood to be the norm in New Zealand rather than the exception."
The aim is not to leave children isolated, Greenwell said.
"People really are starting to do something about it, and it's entirely possible, just to wait a few more years, you can get your child a simple phone, a brick phone, just calls and texts, and then when they're older, you could get them a smartphone."
Research has shown a range of smartphone-associated health problems, Marsh said.
"We know that not meeting screen-use recommendations is associated with things like being obese, having more illnesses, more visits to the doctor, lower physical motor skills and issues with hyperactivity."
A review of the data led by paediatric physiotherapist Julie Cullen identified a range of impacts from vision, hearing, neck pain and headaches to attention, language and cognitive function, Marsh said.
"And then, of course, what everybody's talking about now is the mental health and mental wellbeing outcomes.
"So, depression, anxiety, eating disorders or low self-esteem."
