Matt and Emma Willis: ‘I cannot see any safe or logical way for a kid to have a smartphone’

Young children and families share some heartbreaking stories about online hate, anxiety and suicide in the new documentary series, writesCamilla Foster

Matt and Emma Willis: “None of us grew up with this, but they are, so my responsibility as a parent is to learn about the world that they are living in." Picture: Channel 4/PA. 

TV presenters, and husband and wife, Emma and Matt Willis have opened up about the driving force behind their involvement with the new Channel 4 documentary Swiped: The School That Banned Smartphones, and their key takeaways from it.

The two-part documentary shines a light on the impact smartphones have on children’s behaviour with a landmark social experiment, where 30 Year 8 pupils from The Stanway School in Colchester are challenged to give up their phones and iPads for 21 days, and are monitored by researchers from the University of York.