LONDON: One of Britain’s largest mobile network operators announced on Sunday that it will warn parents against giving smartphones to children under the age of 11.

The new guidelines are a response to growing concerns among parents about the potential dangers of smartphone access for young people.

According to a recent study by the British Communications Regulatory Authority, around a quarter of all British children between the ages of five and seven now own a smartphone.

EE will state in new guidelines that children should only be given phones with “limited capabilities” that only allow them to send texts and make calls.

It is also recommended to activate parental controls for young people under 16 and to restrict the use of social media for those under 13.

In the UK, parents are increasingly resisting the trend of giving their children one of these devices when they move from primary to secondary school at the age of eleven.

While this is largely due to safety concerns in the event of an emergency on the way to school, parents fear that smartphones could also expose their children to the risk of online predators, bullying, social pressure and harmful content.

“Technology and connectivity can change lives, but we also recognise that the increasing complexity of smartphones can pose challenges for parents and carers,” says Mat Sears, Corporate Affairs Director at EE.

“They need support. That’s why we’re introducing new smartphone usage guidelines for under-11s, 11-13s and 13-16s to help them make the best decisions for their children during these formative years.”

US author Jonathan Haidt, who argues in his latest book “The Anxious Generation” that smartphones have rewired children’s brains, is calling on parents to work together to combat smartphone access so that it becomes normal for children not to have a smartphone.

A child “breaks our hearts” when he tells us he is excluded from his age group because he is the only one without a phone, he said earlier this year.

Haidt advocates not using smartphones before the age of 14 and not using social media before the age of 16.

“These things are difficult for a single parent to do. But if we all do them together – even if only half of us – then it will be much easier for our children,” he added.