‘My parents didn’t have a clue’: why many digital natives would not give their kids smartphones

‘Everyone from my generation has an experience of being on chatrooms and getting solicited by someone much, much older,’ said Izzy Bouric, 24. Photograph: Magali Delporte/The Guardian

In 2019, when Sophie* was 12, her classmates sent her “extreme and traumatising” videos that included an al-Qaida beheading, pornography and bestiality. She recalls an adult player in an online game persuading her to meet in person. Although her dad worked in IT, looking back she thinks: “My parents’ generation simply didn’t have a clue.”

Now aged 18 and a student at the University of Edinburgh, she wouldn’t allow her children to have a smartphone until they’re adults. “As a teen I would have been the biggest advocate on everyone having a phone, but I’ve 100% changed my opinion,” she said.