Join our Movement and become an Ambassador for your School Today!
UNITED FOR OUR TAMARIKI
JOIN THE GROWING MOVEMENT TO DELAY SMARTPHONE OWNERSHIP
SIGN THE PARENT PACT
It takes just 60 seconds - and it might just change the world!
Join whānau across Aotearoa who believe childhood’s too precious to be spent on a smartphone. Together, we can build healthier norms and ensure our kids have a childhood that is more exciting and fulfilling than endless scrolling.
LASTEST RESEARCH JUST RELEASED
For years New Zealand has relied on overseas studies and limited local data (the most recent national dataset dated 2018) to understand how tamariki and rangatahi interact with smartphones, social media and AI. That’s now changed.
Thanks to parent donations, Smartphone Free Childhood NZ funded an independent nationwide study of teens, carried out by researchers at the University of Auckland with data collected by Horizon Research. This is the most up‑to‑date, New Zealand‑specific evidence available (November 2025), and it reveals clear patterns of use, harm and the kinds of support young people want.
OUR MISSION
We’re here to shift the cultural norm around when children own smartphones and access social media.
Smartphones are changing childhood—and not always for the better. In a world that’s speeding up, it’s time to press pause. Our mission is to support parents, schools, and communities across New Zealand to delay smartphone ownership for children and spark honest, collective conversations about what our kids truly need to thrive.
We’re not perfect. We’re everyday parents — living in cities and towns, small apartments and rural homes, raising all kinds of kids in all kinds of families and we’re all doing our best in a digital age. Some of us gave our kids access to phones thinking it was the right choice. But the evidence — and the global and local youth statistics — now tell a different story.
This is a new challenge for parents. We get it! It’s tough! And complex! The good news is we’re all facing it together. And we all want the best for our kids. So, with research in hand and community at our side, we’re creating change that’s thoughtful, hopeful, and guided by heart.
WHY?
Because...
Smartphones are being handed to children younger than ever. What begins as a tool for safety can quickly become an addictive source of pressure, distraction and exposure to harmful content.
New Zealand’s youth statistics tell a sobering story. We’re leading a global race to the bottom:
1st Place
Time Most Spent on Digital Devices
OECD data in 2018 showed that youth in NZ used digital devices 42 hours per week on average, compared to 35 hours globally source
2nd Place
Youth Suicide Rate
NZ is the 2nd worst in the developed world (more than twice the average among the 41 OECD countries surveyed) source
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT OUR KIDS?
Smartphones and constant connectivity are changing childhood — fast. While technology has its place, the evidence is clear: early and unrestricted access to smartphones is affecting our kids in ways we can’t ignore. From sleep and spine health to emotional resilience and social development, the impacts are wide-ranging and deeply concerning. Below, we’ve gathered key research to help parents, educators, and communities understand what’s at stake — and why delaying smartphones matters.
• Damages young people’s eyes
• Contributes to obesity in youth
• Prevents youth from playing outside
• Harms development of young people’s spines
• Disrupts sleep for youth
• Becomes addictive
• Reduces children’s academic performance
• Alters the structure of young people’s brains
• Drives a huge increase in cyberbullying
• Increases depression and anxiety in youth
• Intensifies loneliness in youth
• Raises the likelihood of self-harm
• Exposes children to sexual and offensive content
• Pressures young people to send sexual images of themselves
• Makes children vulnerable to sexual abuse and grooming
OPPORTUNITY COST
• For the first time in human history, children spend more time on devices than playing in the physical world
• OECD data from 2018 shows New Zealand youth use digital devices for 42 hours per week, surpassing the global average of 35
WHO IS TALKING ABOUT US
WHAT'S IN THE MEDIA
PARENT TESTIMONIALS
