Anna Louise Claydon & Ben Fryer
3 hours ago
TV personalities Matt and Emma Willis said they wanted to be a part of a new documentary because they felt they had “lost their kids” to smartphones.
The two-part series is a social experiment tackling the impact of smartphones and social media on children. The first episode will be broadcast on Wednesday.
Pupils at The Stanway School in Colchester underwent a series of tests with experts monitoring their behavioural changes as they give up their phones for 21 days.
“When we sat down with the parents at the school, our feelings were resonating back at us,” said Emma Willis.
“So many parents feel like they’re losing their kids to their devices. We sit at home and say that we feel we’ve lost them.”
The students taking part in the experiment at The Stanway School all had to give up their phones for three weeks
Emma Willis, who lives with her husband in Hertfordshire, also told the BBC: “We wanted to get involved because we’re living it at home.
“We are worried about the impact that smartphones are having on our kids.”
The couple share three children, 15, 12 and eight years old – similar ages to that of the Year 8 pupils in the programme.
Harry, a pupil who took part in the experiment, said that he used his phone for “at least nine hours a day” before filming the documentary, “looking at YouTube, gaming and texting”.
He described the moment he had to give up his phone: “It was dreadful.
“It’s like a part of me is missing and something that I need in my life is now in a box for three weeks.” Scarlett said she enjoyed taking part in the programme. Throughout the experiment she did not experience “panic attacks or anxiety”, which she thought was a direct result of the smartphone ban.
“I don’t think it helped scrolling TikTok and not talking about how I felt.”
John Player, the head teacher at The Stanway School, said that they noticed a considerable difference in the students after the experiment.
“There was a 17% drop in anxiety symptoms in students. The impact was really quick,” he said.
A recent Education Select Committee report revealed that one in four children now use their phones in a manner resembling behavioural addiction.
BBC News, Essex