In the coastal town of Greystones, Ireland, parents have voluntarily agreed not to give their children smartphones until they reach secondary school. The initiative, called 'It Takes A Village,' is led by a local school principal and has been adopted by families across the community. One parent told the BBC that the agreement has made it easier to resist pressure from children and peers. The move comes amid growing concern over the impact of screen time on younger children.
Elsewhere in the episode, a woman who survived a late-night attack describes how the experience inspired her to develop a wearable safety device. She shared her story with presenter Shiona McCallum.
“A community in Greystones, Ireland, agrees to wait until secondary school to give children smartphones.”
In a separate experiment, an AI system was let loose to run a cafe in Sweden. The results of that trial were also discussed on the programme.
The episode of Tech Life, produced by Tom Quinn, is available on BBC Sounds.