It may soon be illegal to sell smartphones to underage kids in the state of Colorado. The state officials may bring into effect a bill, which seeks to ban of smartphone sales to children below the age of 13.
The bill has been named Initiative 29 and is currently at the grass root level. Colorado state officials reveal that the bill needs at least 300,000 more signatures to put it to vote in 2018. A group named PAUS or Parents Against Underage Smartphones is currently working to collect signatures for the campaign.
Initiative 29 prohibits smartphone sale to preteens
In case the bill gets approval and comes into effect, Initiative 29 will make it mandatory for smartphone retailers to ask a customer specifically if the handset being purchased is for a child under 13 years. The bill proposes the restriction on retailers from selling or allowing the sale of a smartphone to a child under 13, or to anyone who intends to give the smartphone to a preteen for partial or total use.
The Initiative 29 further states that any commercial outlet caught selling smartphones to Preteens will receive a warning for the first violation. However, if the same reoccurs, the retailer will be slapped with a fine anywhere between $500 and $20,000.
According to the PAUS community members, a child loses interest in all outdoor activities once they get access to a smartphone. Additionally, the entry of a mobile phone in their lives also takes away all their positive energy. Due to the mental and physical adverse effects of mobile devices on children under 13, PAUS advocates a ban on selling of smartphones to underage children.
Negative effects of smartphones on preteens
The concerns of PAUS in not at all baseless as a study published in March revealed approximately, 56 percent of the children between the ages of 10 and 13 own a smartphone. The study also stunned everyone by revealing that 25 percent of kids between the tender ages of 2 and 5 also own a smartphone.
Research conducted globally reveals the developmental and psychological setbacks children face owing to excessive use of mobile phones. Researchers have noted that parents and children who have access to smartphones focus more intently on the device rather than forming a bond with each other. Scientists have stated that healthy and open interactions between a parent and child are very important for the developmental and characteristic growth of the latter.
