Let’s teach teenagers how to use smartphones responsibly | Letters

Shawna Kay Williams-Pinnock calls for lessons about harmful content and social media literacy, plus letters from Stuart Harrington and Cyndy Etler

In the article (As a child psychiatrist, I see what smartphones are doing to kids' mental health - and it's terrifying, 3 January), Dr Emily Sehmer, a UK-based psychiatrist, expressed concerns about the deleterious effects of smartphone use on children. She hopes to keep her children away from such devices and social media until they are 16 years old. She suggests other parents do the same.

Her sheltering" approach may be counterproductive. Some children could source alternative devices and secretly engage with social media. After all, the forbidden is often more enticing. Moreover, a 16-year-old may still be woefully unprepared to navigate online spaces responsibly.