We often speak about childhood as though it is a fixed thing; a place of safety, imagination, connection and exploration. But in today’s world, childhood is quietly being reshaped by technology far faster than parents, educators or even policymakers can respond to. In this episode of Voices of Change, host Heidi Giokos sits down with Claire Thompson, founder of Smartphone Free Childhood South Africa, to unpack what children are facing online and why this conversation has become one of the defining child protection issues of our time.
Claire describes a digital landscape where young people are overwhelmed by pressures they are not developmentally equipped to carry. Smartphones, once viewed as harmless tools, have become portals into experiences that derail emotional development: relentless social comparison, explicit content, predators, bullying cultures, addictive design, and a constant sense of being evaluated. These harms don’t emerge in a vacuum; they manifest in classrooms, in family dynamics, in deteriorating self-esteem and rising mental health crises among children as young as nine.
Heidi guides the discussion with a sensitivity that acknowledges both the urgency and the shame many parents feel. Many caregivers believe they “should have known better” or “should have protected their children sooner,” yet Claire reminds us that no parent can outpace industries built to capture attention and manipulate behaviour. The issue is not parental failure; it is a global system never meant for children but handed to them without guardrails.
The conversation turns toward what children themselves disclose in workshops: loneliness, anxiety, exposure to pornography long before they understand what it is,
confusion about boundaries, and the emotional exhaustion of always being online. Claire emphasises how early digital access interrupts crucial developmental milestones. Children lose opportunities to build resilience, imagination, conflict skills and independence; qualities that grow only in offline environments rich in boredom, experimentation and face-to-face interaction.
But this is not a hopeless diagnosis. Throughout the episode, Claire offers a compassionate roadmap for parents and educators wanting to reclaim childhood. Delay smartphones. Introduce technology gradually. Create homes where screens do not dominate attention, and where children know they can speak about uncomfortable experiences without fear. Engage schools, neighbourhoods and communities to establish consistent norms. Reduce shame by recognising that all families struggle; and that digital safety must be a shared societal commitment.
Most importantly, Claire reframes digital harm as an extension of the broader violence children face during 16 Days of Activism and beyond. Online threats are not separate from real-world risks; they shape identity, relationships, safety and self-worth. Protecting children digitally is not a technology issue; it is an act of social justice and collective care.
This episode is a reminder that childhood is worth fighting for; and that with awareness, boundaries and community, it is still possible to build a digital world in which children can truly thrive.
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