The kids these days are like: tung tung tung sahur, ballerina capuchina, tralalero

tralala,… (make a small gesture like a ballerina ) Do you feel a little bit lost when hearing
these words? I don’t think so. These are Italian brainrot names. In case you’re wondering,
‘brain rot’ is a slang word kids use to describe some silly, addictive content that they scroll
online all the time. This is the world where our kids are growing up in fast, short, addictive
video and shaped completely by smartphones. That brings us today’s topic: kids using
smartphones. This is an issue that matters to everyone, especially parents. While
smartphones offers educational apps, the sense of security and many interesting things to
our lives, a question have been raise: Should parents let their children own smartphones?
So today I’m (Huynh Kim Khanh) here, to explore that question with you.
To begin, let’s look at what other studies say. According to the Journal of Human
development and capabilities, in the Anglosphere, about 70% of children who are under 13
years old own smartphones. 32% of them have sleep disruption, 19% have poor family
relationship and 35% said that they have worse academic performance after owning a
smartphone.
Another article I found from CNN news also warned that using smartphoen before
13 could damage kid’s mental health. That’s likely since the kids who use smartphone
before turning 13 years old accessed social media more and experienced sleep disruption,
cyberbullying or negative family relationships. This data is based on a self-report in a survey
of nearly 2 million people in 163 countries.
However, I also want to know real opinions from parents, see how smartphones
actually affect children’s social skills, mental health and safety in the real-life. So I decided to
create a survey and some short interviews to collect information. I asked 10 parents and 10
teachers in school 5 questions in the survey about children’s awareness of using
smartphones, their control in managing smartphones use and whether smartphones affect
children’s social skills or not. Then, I interviewed 2 parents and 2 teachers about their
thoughts of children owning smartphones too soon nowadays. I hope to find the common
ideas in these answers. After that, I can get both statistics and stories to balanced results.
The result of the survey is fairly predictable. But before I show you the exact number
for each parts, take a guess, do you think for this question, *point at the slide*, most people
answered ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ or ‘Not sure’?( hold up 3 fingers)
…
And the result is ‘ No’. Nearly 50% of parents said no because they think children are
unware of long-term consequences of sharing their personal information online. 78%
thought smartphones affect kid’s social skills. It means that they become shy in real-life
conversations, depend on online chat and tend to bahave violently because of being
influenced by some violent content. Alright students, who here really listen to your mom
when she says: ‘Put that phone down?’ (serious parent voice, slam hand downward)
…
 Wow, that’s surprising, because in the survey, up to more than 50% of parents said
their control is effective in managing kids’ smartphones use. For example, they only let
children use smartphones under their supervision.
In the interview, most of adults said it has more risks than benefits for children
owning smartphones. Why? 2 teachers explained that because they can’t always judge what
is safe to share online. When parents observed their kids carefully, they realized the
differences between before and after a child owning a smartphone. It means that they
talked less with family and prefer texting to speaking in person. For the last question, I asked
my IT teacher whether she has given smartphones to her children or not. She replied: ‘No, I
just let them use mine under supervision.’ But another parent say yes, because he wants to
help his child access educational apps, and be safe when travelling. However he also
complained that his son spent too much time playing games and stayed up late very often.
(shrug shoulders, shake head)
One thing was clear, most parents realized the downside of children owning
smartphones, but some still allow them to use one, believing it is necessary for
communication and safety, even people who see the risks of kids having smartphones.
About me, I realized this question is more meaningful than I imagined before. I’ve
learned that children shouldn’t own smartphones because they may not understand online
risks, their social skills or mental health can be affected, violent games can influence their
behavior, and the focus and academic performance can drop. Smartphones are powerful
tools, but without guidance from adults, they can bring more harm than benefits.
To conclude, giving kids smartphones too soon is like opening a door before they’re
ready to face what’s outside. Even Bill Gates, who is the co-founder of Microsoft, didn’t
allow his children to own smartphones until they were 14. Why? Because he saw the risks of
too much screen time like distraction, addiction and poor sleep. He wanted his children to
grow up grounded and normal. So even though, Bill Gates is a tech billionaire, at home, he
set clear rules for their children: no phones during meals, setting time limits, and
encouraging reading or learning over device use. I want to say that, if someone understand
about technology better than almost anyone choose to set limits, it means that waiting is a
wise choice to protect kids’ safety, health, and future.
So at the end, my message to you is very simple: Smartphone is just a tool, it must
never be a cage that limits a child’s future.
Thank you for listening. Once again, my name is Huynh Kim Khanh.