South African Parents Rally For Smartphone-free Childhoods

Following the success of its Press Pause, Go Play events held at Rustenburg Girls Junior School on Wednesday evening and live-streamed at SACS Junior School last night, Smartphone Free Childhood South Africa SFC is causing quite a stir among Cape Towns schooling communities.

Parents all over South Africa are joining the movement to remove smartphones from the school environment in an effort to delay their childrens exposure to social media and smartphones.

SFC joins a global initiative led by parents who are concerned about the impact of smartphone technology on their childrens mental health and well-being, following countless cases of sextortion, cyberbullying and addiction disrupting their internal communities.

Moving towards a slow-tech and low-tech childhood, SFC advocates for collective action to put off the premature introduction of mobile devices at home and in the school environment to offer South African children a chance to grow up in the real world, where their mental, emotional, physical and social development thrive.

This weeks events were led by a distinguished panel of experts, including Emma Sadleir. Founder of the Digital Law Company, Emma is a leading expert on social media law and spoke of her first-hand experiences of the implications of kids' engagement online.