Smartphones are an unwelcome distraction | Letters

Nonagenarian Tim Watson on why no one, including adults, should be using smartphones. And Carole Gray found her enjoyment of the Van Gogh exhibition impeded by the crowd holding up their phones to take photos

Channel 4's Swiped: The School That Banned Smartphones deserves a medal (TV review, 11 December). Its emphasis on the pathological effects of smartphone use was convincing. And yet something was missing: that adults are themselves infected by the disease. No one should be using smartphones. They distract those who should be talking naturally with children, helping youngsters' intellectual development. Intelligent conversation will soon die out. Only really old people will notice, for only they will remember.
Tim Watson (nearly 94)
Worcester

Your article on phones being banned in nightclubs (Snap out of it: Manchester club joins growing trend to ban phone cameras, 14 December) leads me to wonder if this could be extended to art exhibitions. I recently visited the Van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery in London. The exhibition was so crowded that it was impossible to stand back to view the paintings, and it was exacerbated by the huge number of people holding their phones up to take photos of the paintings or selfies in front of them. Perhaps there could be phone-free sessions available to book?
Carole Gray
Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex