To Our MP in North Cornwall, Ben Maguire,
At Solve, we are a forward-thinking digital agency helping businesses worldwide, including organisations such as Cornwall Air Ambulance, Toyota, and Lexus. As a leading B Corp in the UK for communication and technology, we are committed to using innovation responsibly, ensuring that digital advancements serve people rather than exploit them.
But today, I’m not writing to talk about business. I’m writing because we are at a turning point in how we protect the next generation from the harms of digital technology.
Even the greatest minds in tech knew the dangers of unrestricted smartphone use.
Steve Jobs, the visionary behind the iPhone, refused to let his children use the very devices he helped create. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, didn’t allow his children to have smartphones until they were 14 and enforced strict screen-time rules. They know the research and technology that went into intentionally making apps addictive – because the more time we spend, the more data they harvest, the more money they make.
These pioneers understood what many parents and educators are now realising: smartphones and social media, as they exist today, are harming children’s development.
Why Smartphone Reform Is Urgent
The impact of unregulated smartphone use is undeniable:
Mental Health & Wellbeing
- Increased rates of anxiety, depression, and social isolation in young people
- Cyberbullying follows children everywhere, making home no longer a safe space
- Dopamine-driven addiction makes children dependent on digital validation
Academic & Cognitive Decline
- Reduced focus and retention from constant digital distractions
- Lower academic performance as social media and gaming override learning
Social & Emotional Development Issues
- Decline in face-to-face communication skills
- Inability to regulate emotions due to overstimulation
Exposure to Harmful Content & Predators
- Violence, hate speech, pornography, and toxic trends that influence young minds
- Online grooming and exploitation risks due to unfiltered access
Physical & Health Risks
- Sleep deprivation from excessive screen time
- Increased risk of obesity, poor posture, and eye strain
We are witnessing what could be the public health crisis of our generation—and the evidence is overwhelming:
- 72% of UK voters believe social media negatively affects young people (More in Common, Jan 2025).
- 95% of UK parents want social media companies to do more to protect young users—and 68% of young people agree (Parentkind, 2024).
- The average UK teenager spends 35 hours a week on their smartphone, leading to serious consequences for their mental health, sleep, education, and overall development (University of Birmingham, Feb 2025).
- Rates of depression, anxiety and suicide in young people have spiked globally since 2010, when children first began getting smartphones
- Since 2022, there has been a 66% rise in ‘self-generated’ sexual abuse imagery of children under 10
- For the first time in human history, children are spending more time on devices than they are playing – an activity crucial to our healthy development.
Protecting Childhood: A Pivotal Moment in History
At Solve, we leverage technology for good, but we also see first-hand how Big Tech prioritises profit over protection. These platforms are designed to be addictive, keeping children locked in endless scrolling, bombarded with harmful content, unrealistic beauty standards, and manipulative advertising.
The Safer Phones Bill was published today (5th March) and will be discussed in Parliament on Friday 7th March. This is a crucial step forward and will address concerns regarding the negative impact of technology on children to help make smartphones less addictive. It proposes simple but essential changes:
- Raising the age of “internet adulthood” from 13 to 16
- Preventing Big Tech from using children’s data to make their platforms even more addictive
- Banning phones in UK schools by Law
- Changing the way phones are advertised to children
- Giving Ofcom more power to protect children from addictive apps
This Bill is supported by leading organisations such as Barnardo’s, the NSPCC, the National Education Union, and the Children’s Commissioner. It is a measured, reasonable response to an urgent crisis.
We owe it to our children to do what we can to remove distractions and enable them to be fully present and engaged in the classroom. We also owe it to our pupils to keep them safe at school.
The Decision You Make on March 7th Matters
If we let this moment slip away, what message does that send? That we are comfortable letting tech giants manipulate and monetise children’s attention at the cost of their wellbeing?
I and many others refuse to accept that.
And I hope you do too.
So, I ask one last time: Will you attend the Second Reading in Parliament on March 7th and back the Bill?
Your leadership on this issue matters. Parents, teachers, and children across our country are counting on you.
Best regards,
Lawrence Harmer – Director at Solve.co.uk
Together we are more powerful.
If you have kids and are concerned about the impact phones have on their mental health, email your MP using the simple template here:
Join this fast-growing grassroots movement TODAY:
- Over 18,000 MP letters have been sent
- 97% of MPs in the UK have received letters
- On average MPs have received 29 letters each
