It is often argued that children should not be permitted to have mobile phones until they turn 16 years old. I definitely agree with this statement because smartphones have some negative impact for children such as reducing their academic performance and also affecting their social skills.
Regarding school performance, internet addiction could probably affect their academic achievement because there are more compelling applications namely Instagram, tiktok or YouTube that provide interesting videos that are really addictive. The more time they spend surfing on the internet they might feel convenient to scroll through social media. As a result they have a lot of screen time rather than a study session and avoid the school assignment. These could probably lower their grades and academic performance that affect their future life. For instance, In 2026, Indonesian officials applied this method that smartphones for children below 16 years restricted to play Roblox because there was much harassment in that application.
In some cases, Mobile phones addiction could make individuals less social skills. They might focus on their own gadget to use any kind of application like Roblox, Fee Fire or PUBG to fulfill their leisure time. Afterwards, they might feel tired to socialize even though with their friends in a school or parents so these issues probably affect their future careers. In this modern era, there are many graduates with high qualifications, so, the things that make them different are their skills and uniqueness especially their communication skill or public speaking. For example, there is HRD in Jakarta that was viral on Twitter because he said that he has been blacklist graduates that doesn’t have a public speaking skill even if they have a perfect GPA.
To sum up, children under 16 years should not be allowed to use smartphones because it will reduce their academic performance and less social skills