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66% of parents don't want children under 14 to have smartphones

Just 22% think that this is OK, according to a poll carried out by Claire Byrne Live.

THE VAST MAJORITY of parents don’t want children under 14 to have smartphones, according to a new poll.

The poll was carried out by Amárach Research for RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live.

Earlier this week, experts told the Oireachtas Children and Youth Affairs Committee that it should be “frowned upon” for parents to give a smartphone to children before a certain age.

They were speaking in the context of the issue of digital consent. During the session, it was acknowledged that there is a problem of “peer pressure” for parents surrounding the issue of phones – and that some children might be bullied if they don’t have a smartphone.

Last year Fine Gael TD Jim Daly attempted to bring in a bill that would restrict minors aged under 14 to own a mobile phone that has internet access.

Speaking at the time, he said: “When people ask me, ‘what age should my child be before I buy them a such a device?’ I reply: ‘whatever age you are happy with them viewing pornography’.”

When the Claire Byrne Live show asked this week “should parents or guardians of children aged under 14 allow them to have smart phones?”, it found that the majority of parents don’t want their child owning such a phone.

The results of the poll are:

  • Yes 22%
  • No 66%
  • Don’t know 12%

Read: It should be ‘frowned upon’ for parents to give young children a smartphone, politicians told>

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39 Comments
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    Mute M.G Lochlain
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    Feb 17th 2018, 7:15 AM

    I’m shocked it wasn’t higher to be honest. 14 years at the earliest absolutely. I know a child who got an iphoneX for Christmas!! Madness!! Some parents really need a reality check

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    Mute Patabake Kennedy
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    Feb 17th 2018, 8:16 AM

    @M.G Lochlain: Some parents should be banned from having a phone, as well.

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    Mute offtheball
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    Feb 17th 2018, 9:25 AM

    @M.G Lochlain: well sure isn’t it obvious – the better and more expensive the phone is the more my child will love me

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    Mute MK76
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    Feb 17th 2018, 7:27 AM

    Em, so don’t give them one then.

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    Mute Red hurley
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    Feb 17th 2018, 7:37 AM

    @MK76: exactly what i said.

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    Mute Boyne Sharky
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    Feb 17th 2018, 11:40 AM

    @MK76: As most kids under 14 have a smartphone, a lot of parents are either lying or hypocrites. They can’t have it both ways.

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    Mute Ian McGrath
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    Feb 17th 2018, 7:11 AM

    I would be one of those 66% . Kids are just so vulnerable without proper education on how to go online safely. Many pros and cons but I agree with the 66%.

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    Mute Jane
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    Feb 17th 2018, 7:48 AM

    I’m not sure about 66%. My son is in sixth class and he’s the only one who doesn’t have a phone.

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    Mute Michelle Ní Dhubhlaíocht
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    Feb 17th 2018, 8:48 AM

    @Jane: My daughter is in 6th class and doesn’t have one either.

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    Mute Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin
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    Feb 17th 2018, 8:48 AM

    @Jane: Clearly most of the parents in that class are giving in to the peer pressure discussed in the article.

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    Mute Seeking Truth
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    Feb 17th 2018, 11:49 AM

    @Jane: My son was also the only one in 6th class. Then he got one for his last day of 6th class buy was still 12 and could not get Snapchat, etc. until he was 13. So it was a bit of a pain for him because of his strict mother LOL. So, in light of that, age 13 is probably the minimum age to get a smartphone. I am well aware that most kids lie about their age online but I disagree with it.

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    Mute Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin
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    Feb 17th 2018, 9:06 AM

    From my experience teaching children of primary age there seems to be little meaningful supervision of childrens internet use outside of school hours. The first thing I’m asked by a parent if there is an incident with a child at school is “where was the supervision?”, yet many parents seem to think it’s acceptable for young children to use internet devices behind close doors at all hours of the day and night with no supervision or monitoring of what they look at or who they contact.

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    Mute Squiddley Diddley
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    Feb 21st 2018, 6:52 PM

    @Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin: Personally I think a lot more could be done to help parents with this. There should be an education campaign teaching parents how they can control internet access to individual devices usingv their router . Worked well with our kids phoned. Just set up access times. And all phone providers should have to sell a ‘student package’ where the days turns off at 10pm on school nights, 12 on Friday and Saturday. The above would be a big help to parents of teens, and even older people with poor self discipline.

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    Mute Squiddley Diddley
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    Feb 21st 2018, 6:53 PM

    @Squiddley Diddley: sorry that should have read ‘data would turn off at 10 pm and 12′

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    Mute shaunhennessy
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    Feb 17th 2018, 7:46 AM

    Would you be happy to drop a 14 year old in the centre of london everu day and tell them not to talk to strangers and dont get into any trouble and you’ll be back in a few hours?

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    Mute Sandra Turner
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    Feb 17th 2018, 7:56 AM

    @shaunhennessy: do they need a smart phone or just a phone?

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    Mute David Sinclair
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    Feb 17th 2018, 8:10 AM

    @shaunhennessy:
    I’d be happier if they had a smartphone to help them navigate their way round and keep in touch much less likelihood of engaging in conversation when they’re on the phone too anyway why would I do that we live in rural Ireland.

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    Mute Patabake Kennedy
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    Feb 17th 2018, 9:00 AM

    @David Sinclair: If they have to look at a phone to know where they are, maybe they should not be let out in the first place.

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    Mute Vic's Burd
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    Feb 17th 2018, 8:36 AM

    So I fall in the 34% then?! Both my children had access to pc/laptops/iPads from 9/10 years of age – I don’t see the difference between them and having a smartphone which they naturally progressed to.

    One child brought their own phone with confirmation money, I wasn’t impressed but allowed it under strict monitoring. We had a rule: all phones/laptops stay downstairs/at home (when in school) and we had full access to them to check/monitor activity.

    A bit of common sense and tech savvy parenting supervision skills needed IMO.

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    Mute Seeking Truth
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    Feb 17th 2018, 11:55 AM

    @Vic’s Burd: I agree with iPad/laptop access at a young age. A family iPad where it has to be shared in open areas in the house.
    Smartphone use brings the Snapchat/Whatsapp/Instagram issue where everything becomes more private and the only way kids/teens seem to communicate with each other. We can say as parents we will monitor their use and it is important to do so, but do you really want to know every private conversation your teen is having with a friend? Would you sit inside their bedroom listening to their conversations with a friend who had come over for a chat or walk behind them at the shopping centre listening to their chats about friends and school and life?
    This is where smartphones are so insidious. I do not think priimary school kids have the mental and emotional capacity to deal with all of this constant bombardment of information, communication, etc. Not sure Junior cycle teens do either but it is a really complicated issue.

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    Mute Vic's Burd
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    Feb 17th 2018, 12:54 PM

    @Seeking Truth: true we can’t monitor them 100% but we can raise them to respect others. And encourage positive communication where they can come to us if something or someone makes them feel uncomfortable.

    Snapchat and instagram (as are other social media) are accessible on iPads etc anyway. Which still makes me consider them all the same.

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    Mute Barbara Edwards
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    Feb 17th 2018, 8:09 AM

    Fine then. Be a parent. Don’t give them one.

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    Mute Susannah O'Brien
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    Feb 17th 2018, 9:10 AM

    My daughter was friends with a girl in her old school who had a smart phone at the age of 7. I had to stop the playdates because this child was showing my daughter all kinds of inappropriate material, including videos clips from horror movies and porn. my daughter actually had nightmares from a particular clip she was shown. The mother didn’t care in the slightest. My daughter is 10 now and not in that school anymore but the isolation and pressure she still feels because i won’t get her a phone is insane. I should not be the one to feel bad here, it’s those other negligent idiots who give their children smartphones who should feel bad. There needs to be a culture of shame around giving under 14′s a smartphone.

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    Mute Chris Martin
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    Feb 17th 2018, 2:59 PM

    @Susannah O’Brien: I dread this for my near 5 yr old son. I have no intention of getting him a phone/tablet for a long while yet but it worries me he’ll be in the minority and will he be bullied/left out because of it.

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    Mute Susannah O'Brien
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    Feb 17th 2018, 3:54 PM

    @Chris Martin: It’s really tough Chris. He will be in the minority like my kids are but you just have to stick to your guns. We can’t teach kids not to capitulate to peer pressure if we do it ourselves.

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    Mute iohanx
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    Feb 17th 2018, 7:53 AM

    Number of people surveyed was 9 I’d imagine.

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    Mute Roddie Cleere
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    Feb 17th 2018, 9:02 AM

    You are a parent. Parent.

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    Mute Michael Garvey
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    Feb 17th 2018, 7:15 AM

    You’d hope at 14 they would be savy enough to be able to use a phone smartly. No pun intended.. And I would hope that secondary schools and parents alike would be responsible enough to educate teenagers on the dangers of sex offenders and bullying on social media..

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    Mute Gus McIntosh
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    Feb 17th 2018, 8:11 AM

    Yes, I’m surprised to be honest. Social media is part of life now and I would be a fan of education and monitoring. Much in the way that French kids drink wine with their dinner from a young age. It’s the Brits and Irish that are forbidden, and then they end up drunk in the gutter.

    I don’t buy this “privacy” thing though. I’ll be open with my kids and tell them I’m going to monitor their accounts, but in return I won’t be a disciplinarian. I much prefer to be someone they can rely on to help them through life the way they choose to live it.

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    Mute Mark Carroll
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    Feb 17th 2018, 8:49 AM

    @Michael Garvey: their parents and the society they’re entering are addicted to smart phones they don’t stand a chance

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    Mute Seeking Truth
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    Feb 17th 2018, 12:00 PM

    @Michael Garvey: my son’s secondary school had a talk last week and told them if they have child pornography (nudes of teenage girls) on their smartphones they could go to jail and have to be registered as sex offenders for the rest or their lives. Quite a shocking talk but it brought the perspective to the guys that even though THEY are minors, the girls in the pictures are also minors and it is a crime. Interesting tactic

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    Mute Matt Shallow
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    Feb 17th 2018, 8:50 AM

    Smart devices are fantastic educational tools when used properly. Children should be allowed use these devices for education and play at any age under responsible supervision. Those parents that want a blanket ban up until a certain age might prevent their child from learning good smart device use habits. Sure look at what happened when they were introduced to 20′s plus for the first time. There are so many people with their heads on the phones these days. The whole argument essentially comes down to responsible parenting.

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    Mute Dave Doyle
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    Feb 17th 2018, 8:10 AM

    Given the times we live in, in many cases both parents working, a means of communication is essential. Either you’re capable of doing your job as a parent and able to educate your kids as to the potential dangers of smart phone use, or you’re not. Kids will always seek out the ugly, the porn side, of what’s available whether it’s on phones or anything else available. They have to be taught how to relate to what’s available on phones.
    This is a drive against social media, and kids are being used to push this agenda.

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    Mute Jeffrey McMahon
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    Feb 17th 2018, 9:37 AM

    Alternate headline, 50% of parents are liars.

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    Mute Gabija Sebelskyte
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    Feb 21st 2018, 8:23 PM

    I’m a much younger reader and I’ve grown up with the starting of children getting phones. All of my friends got phones at a much younger age than me and I had to deal with many countless comments because I still had a flip phone that was handed down to me for when I’m outside with friends and emergencies. Honestly please don’t give in to the pressure as it causes huge stigma in the classroom and divides people. If anyone has questions about how it felt growing up with this sort of pressure please ask.

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    Mute Ryan
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    Feb 19th 2018, 5:29 PM

    I think everyone that is saying that children or teenagers to say shouldn’t have smart phones needs a reality check I know kids under 9-8 that have smart phones and do they be texted by pedofiles NO the internet is not some place where pedofiles are around every corner parents just need to be careful and check it.

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    Mute Anne Marie Devlin
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    Feb 17th 2018, 10:01 AM

    As under 14 means everything from birth up until that age, i suppose it could be true that 66% of u14s have not received smart phones from their parents. It highlights the meaningless of the survey

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    Mute Kyserkelly
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    Feb 17th 2018, 4:27 PM

    Well then don’t give them phones!! You are their parents not their friends. It’s simple really “can I have a phone” answer “No” simples

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    Mute Martin O Donnell
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    Feb 17th 2018, 10:50 AM

    As a parent I would feel whenever the child feels comfortable to have one

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    Mute Ryan
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    Feb 19th 2018, 5:30 PM

    @Martin O Donnell: I agree

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