TD calls for ban on mobile phones in schools

It is important that children should have eight hours in the day free from social media interference, said Dáil Deputy Anne Rabbitte.

The Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Children and Youth Affairs also warned parents that their children may be ‘sexting’ while they sit next to them in the sitting room.

“It appears there is a highly active secret texting code being used universally by young people. While some of the more widely known abbreviations are innocent and merely used as time saving devices, such as brb (be right back) and lol (laugh out loud), some have far more sinister meanings behind them. This is allowing highly-sexualised and inappropriate conversations to be carried out right under parents’ noses,” warned the mother of three.

“It is my belief that the presence of phones should be outlawed in schools entirely. This is something parents can monitor much easier than the schools themselves. It is so important that our children be allowed these eight hours free of social media interference. Our children live in a fast-moving media bubble and our only weapon is knowledge,” she said.

Deputy Rabbitte called for additional supports for parents to enable them protect their children online. She said many parents are worried about their children’s online activity, and are especially concerned about cyber-bullying and grooming.

“The ever-evolving digital environment means parents can often feel on the back-foot when it comes to protecting their children online, and has created a real fear about cyber-bullying, grooming and access to porn.

“Parents are often well aware of how much time their kids are spending online, but less familiar with what they’re accessing.  Parents need to familiarise themselves with the technology their children are using but there also needs to be more information and supports out there to help them do that.

“The increased prevalence of social media, smartphones, and almost constant internet access, much of the advice we dole out to parents and educators has become out-dated and impractical.

“As a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs, I will be exploring new ways of engaging children and young people, as well as their parents, guardians, and teachers, on the issue of internet safety. Peer to peer and parental education, along with new child-centred programmes must form the backbone of a new, improved internet safety campaign,” added Deputy Rabbitte.

Deputy Rabbitte said An Garda Síochána should follow the lead of PSNI and release a list of the terms to “help guide and educate parents in relation to these code words so that any inappropriate contact can be addressed.”

She said: “It is our responsibility as parents to ensure we keep up to date with this ever-changing social scene our children are a part of. We have to teach them about consequence and repercussion, and how anything that goes up online can be there for life. It is impossible for us to teach safe practices in a media we do not understand.

“It is important that the Government recognises this issue and acknowledges that not all families will have the same access to this information. For this reason, I would like to see a programme put in place in schools aimed at not just educating children, but parents as well.”

She said parents can no longer monitor children’s activity on Facebook. The representative added: “For most young people Facebook is already a relic – social medias such as Snapchat have started a new wave of instant communication, there one minute gone the next.

“Not only does this make activity harder for parents to monitor, but it can give children a false sense of security – the idea that anything you send will vanish in a matter of seconds, never to be seen again can bolster children’s confidence, encouraging out of character behaviour and recklessness. Privacy is important, but not at the cost of safety. Knowledge is power and we need to empower ourselves and our children.”