EE launches P.H.O.N.E. Contract for parent and kids

EE has teamed up with Konnie Huq and the EE Youth Council to launch The P.H.O.N.E. Contract, a free customisable agreement parents and children can use to set boundaries around smartphone behaviour.

The new P.H.O.N.E Contract, developed with insight from thousands of UK families, comes as EE’s new under 18s smartphone plans – Safer SIMs – and in-store online safety appointments become available from today.

The launch comes at a peak time for back-to-school preparations. Approximately 3.8 million families are set to debate the ground rules of smartphone use this summer while two fifths (43 percent) of parents intending to buy their child a handset ahead of the new academic year are planning to do so from mid to late August.

Phone Use Contract

The P.H.O.N.E. Contract has been developed following a wealth of insights on smartphone usage from the newly formed EE Youth Council, not-for-profit organisation Internet Matters, parent ambassador Konnie Huq, and thousands of families across the UK.

It is a fully customisable downloadable document from the EE website, and covers topics including screentime, phone curfews and other situations when smartphone use is not allowed, as well as tools to monitor usage. It has been designed to feature input from both parent and child, ensuring young people feel heard in the decision-making process and can understand the rules being set.

The P.H.O.N.E. Contract follows new research of thousands of families across the UK, which reveals clear communication gaps and family flashpoints around smartphone boundaries and safety.

The insights reveal 9 in 10 adults (93 percent) argue with their children over smartphone use, while 39 percent of parents and 31 percent of 11-17-year-olds believe clearer guidelines over their devices and social media use would reduce family friction.

Inappropriate content

The P.H.O.N.E. Contract sets out the situations where children must agree to tell their parents about any inappropriate behaviour and material they see online, including cruelty or illegal and adult content.

When considering their online safety, over half of teens and tweens see being scammed as their biggest fear (51 percent), followed by being bullied (50 percent) or being exposed to adult content (48 percent).

For parents, however, their child being exposed to adult material like pornography is the biggest worry, shared by 68 percent of adults surveyed.

Screen time

Meanwhile, conditions around the amount of daily smartphone use are a key part of the new P.H.O.N.E Contract, ensuring families can put in place specific limits on screentime and set a switch-off time for devices.

By getting parents and children on the same page, the P.H.O.N.E. Contract will also help defuse common smartphone rows. EE’s research shows screentime is a particular sore topic for families, with over half (53 percent) arguing about it at least once a month.

Other sources of family disagreements include children using their phone late at night (50 percent) and being distracted from schoolwork (47 percent).

Just over half of parents (51 percent) would be happy with a national smartphone usage curfew for under-16s, rising to 63 percent for kids under 13. Of those who support the curfew for under-16s, 70 percent of adults want it to be 9pm at the latest (81 percent when considering a curfew for under-13s).

EE’s Parent Ambassador, TV presenter Konnie Huq, who has two sons aged 11 and 13, has backed the new contract.

Konnie Huq, TV Presenter and EE Parent Ambassador comments:

“All parents know how daunting it can feel to hand over more responsibility to your child. With a smartphone, you’re excited to give over increased independence, but the risks can be a worry.

EE’s P.H.O.N.E. Contract enables parents to agree rules with their children and have conversations that they might never have had otherwise. It’s all about creating a framework where families can feel confident about their digital lives.”

EE Safer SIMs and Online Safety Appointments

The downloadable P.H.O.N.E. Contract comes in conjunction with a new suite of smartphone services, rolling out across EE stores, EE telesales and ee.co.uk from today, and are available for parents and their children.

This includes EE’s new ‘Safer SIMs’ – affordable under 18s smartphone plans designed around different levels of independence. EE is offering the choice of three new 30-day SIM-only plan options starting from just £7, as well as the option of a pay-as-you-go plan.

The plans have in-built parental controls when using the EE network and have been designed to be used in conjunction with app-based parental controls and iOS and Android device-level controls, as well as WiFi and broadband controls.

EE is also offering new online safety appointments in store, with expert EE Guides trained to give online safety, personalised support and practical guidance, as well as advice on setting up device-level controls

Extra family guidance is also provided by ‘The P.H.O.N.E. Chat’, a digital resource created in association with Internet Matters. This provides up-to-date information on online safety and advice on how to navigate discussions around responsible smartphone use.

Malcolm Cubitt, Director of Mobile Product, EE, comments:

“As parents prepare to give their children their first smartphones, our new free P.H.O.N.E. Contract has been designed to help both them and their child to agree boundaries on smartphone behaviour in a way that means everyone is fully engaged with the process.

When combined with our new Safer SIMs and in-store online safety appointments, as the UK’s best network for families, parents and guardians can be reassured we are here for them to get the practical guidance, tools and advice they need.”

Families can access The P.H.O.N.E. Contract here and the EE’s new Safer SIMs will be available here.

Meanwhile, Online Safety Appointments can be booked here.