A new contract scheme designed to help parents and children collaboratively set boundaries on screen time and keep safe online has been launched by EE.
The “P.H.O.N.E. Contract” is a free customisable agreement parents can download and use to set boundaries around smartphone behaviour, covering topics including screentime, phone curfews and the use of monitoring tools for their children.
It comes as 3.8 million families with secondary school-age children are set to debate the issue of smartphone usage this summer, with 39 per cent of parents and 31 per cent of children saying clearer rules would reduce family arguments, according to EE research.
The P.H.O.N.E. Contract has been developed using insights on smartphone usage from the newly formed EE Youth Council, not-for-profit organisation Internet Matters, parent ambassador Konnie Huq, and thousands of families across the UK.
It is a fully customisable downloadable document from the EE website, designed to feature input from both parent and child, ensuring young people feel heard in the decision-making process and can understand the rules being set.
The launch of the contract follows new research commissioned by EE, in which 2,000 UK parents with children aged 11-17 were surveyed about phone usage for under-18s.
The insights revealed 93 per cent of adults argue with their children over smartphone use, while 39 per cent of parents and 31 per cent of 11-17-year-olds believe clearer guidelines over their devices and social media use would reduce family friction.
Screentime is a particularly sore topic for families, with over half arguing about it at least once a month, according to EE research.
Other sources of family disagreements include children using their phone late at night and being distracted from schoolwork.
Just over half of parents would be happy with a national smartphone usage curfew for under-16s, rising to 63 per cent for kids under 13. Of those who support the curfew for under-16s, 70 per cent of adults want it to be 9pm at the latest.
