SMART MOVE

Call for under-16s smartphone ban | Warnings over grim online content

-  LIZZIE BUCHAN

MOST parents would back a ban on under16s having smartphones, a poll found.

Campaigners warn society has "sleepwalked" into children getting hooked on devices that are a gateway to grim online content.

A survey for charity Parentkind found 58% of parents of school-aged children think smartphones should be banned for under-16s, rising to 77% among those whose kids are in primary school.

Overall, 83% of parents said smartphones are harmful to young people.

And 89% said they feared their kids could face online bullying and abuse through using a smartphone, while 87% worried they might access harmful content.