Familias que se unen y pactan no dar móvil a sus hijos hasta los 16 años: "Así evitamos la presión social"
elDiario.es's Catalunya desk covers the spread of family pacts, including the one Elisabet García Permanyer organized in Barcelona's Poblenou neighborhood, in which parents commit together to delay a child's first smartphone until age 16 rather than the more typical age 12. The piece situates her WhatsApp group, which passed 1,000 members within days, alongside a comparable effort in Cardedeu involving roughly 380 families across several school associations, and cites national figures showing most Spanish children already have a smartphone well before age 16. García Permanyer is quoted arguing that 12-year-olds are better served spending their time on play, sports, friendship, and schoolwork than on unrestricted device access. The article frames these pacts as a coordination tool that lets families who want to wait do so without singling out their own child.
The article cites national figures that 75.5% of Spanish children already have a smartphone by age 12.
By age 15, the same cited figures put smartphone ownership at 96%.
A comparable delay-pact effort in Cardedeu, cited alongside García Permanyer's group, involved about 380 families across multiple school associations.
elDiario.es Catalunya. "Familias que se unen y pactan no dar móvil a sus hijos hasta los 16 años: 'Así evitamos la presión social.'" elDiario.es, November 3, 2023 (updated November 7, 2023).