NEWSLETTER Gibraltar’s push for a smartphone-free childhood

Most of us wouldn’t dream of putting a cigarette in our child’s mouth. Yet how many of us are guilty of putting them in front of YouTube while we sort out laundry or cook dinner? I know I am.

I’m also horribly hooked on my phone. The difference, of course, is that while my prefrontal cortex is fully developed (we’d hope), a young child’s brain isn’t. And while my dopamine pathways can just about handle the ping of a notification, they can have severe effects on developing, more malleable brains. The science is increasingly clear: excessive and unregulated screen time is changing the way children sleep, focus, socialise and regulate emotion. Studies show higher anxiety, shorter attention spans, language delays, and poorer motor skills in children overexposed to screens, and this is especially true before age five.

You may have heard of Smartphone Free Childhood Gibraltar, the local branch of a global parent-led movement that’s gaining traction (and perhaps a few eye-rolls). For the avoidance of doubt, this absolutely is not a finger-wagging crusade. We are not “anti-tech”. We are you. Exhausted, busy, well-intentioned parents trying to raise children in an environment that’s unfairly stacked against us.

To return to the cigarette analogy, there was a time when lighting up on a plane or even a hospital ward wasn’t an unthinkable reality. It took decades of evidence and public health campaigns to change that. I really believe we’re simply at an earlier stage of the same journey in recognising that what once seemed harmless and even progressive may, in fact, be more irrevocably damaging than we previously realised.

And let’s be clear, our collective addiction is not a moral failing. These devices and platforms are designed to hook us (and, shockingly, our children) using behavioural psychology techniques that exploit reward loops in the brain. Algorithms don’t care about childhood development. They care purely about attention - grabbing it, and retaining it. And they are chillingly good at it. It’s not only the social-media scroll that’s doing damage, but the constant bombardment. The 24-hour news reports, the notifications, the endless alerts.

In a recent piece by my good friend and fellow columnist Priya Gulraj, someone was quoted as saying “I can’t imagine how stressful it must be for kids and teens growing up in the age of the never-ending news cycle when they’re still learning basic social skills and trying to make sense of the world around them.”

Last week, my fellow representatives from Smartphone Free Childhood Gibraltar and I had a constructive and hopeful meeting with the Director of Public Health, her team, and the Director of Education. We held a positive, practical, and evidence-led discussion on the use of smartphones, screens, and social media among Gibraltar's youth. There is clear support from all parties for addressing this important issue for the sake of our children. It was also agreed that parents and caregivers throughout Gibraltar need support and are not to blame for this challenge. This is an issue we must tackle together as a society on our children's behalf.

International research shows that children are arriving at school with poorer fine and gross motor skills, shorter attention spans, and reduced social readiness, all of which are indicators linked to early and excessive screen exposure.

It’s a privilege to live in a jurisdiction small and nimble enough to make a measurable difference in a shorter amount of time than other places. Gibraltar can move faster than larger nations, and with a coordinated effort, we can model what a healthier digital culture looks like.

Our goal isn’t to demonise technology, but we must reclaim balance. Maybe that means re-introducing the kitchen phone (a single family device that stays in one spot, e.g. the kitchen) or switching to “dumb phones” for teens until they’re ready for more. Maybe it’s simply about more presence: phones down at dinner, a bedtime without blue light.

I’m grateful this movement is taking shape before my children reach double digits, although by then I’m sure there’ll be new challenges (TikTok in our eyeballs?), but for now, the aim is to delay the scroll and protect connection. With this, we can give childhood a fighting chance.

Join our Smartphone Free Childhood Gibraltar WhatsApp group (the irony is not lost on us!) for more literature and to stay up-to-date with the group’s movements: bit.ly/sfcgib.

Sophie Clifton-Tucker
SFC Admin