'We can't wait any longer': Brianna Ghey's mum calls for school phones ban
Esther Ghey was speaking on a panel we set up to discuss the future of social media
The mother of murdered schoolgirl Brianna Ghey has been telling us it's time for action to end the harms that mobile phones are inflicting on young people.
Speaking on a Hits Radio panel at the Future of Media event in London, Esther Ghey says she wants to see mobile phones locked away during school - and warned that too many younger children are accessing harmful content.
Brianna Ghey was murdered in 2023 in a park near her home in Warrington.
Phone Free Education campaign
Esther told the event that problems with Brianna's mental health before her death had been exacerbated by things she'd seen online.
This included battling anorexia, self harm and isolation.
Campaigning for Brianna Ghey's legacy
She said: "Brianna really struggled with her mental health in the last two years of her life. The reasons that I'm campaigning is not because of what happened to her, it's because the last two years of her life were filled with absolute suffering and I know the suffering was exacerbated by what she was accessing online."
She added: "I know Brianna isn't alone and there's so many other young people struggling with their mental health - and this is why I'm speaking out."
Esther is campaigning for a Phone Free Education, which would see a ban on phones in school, combined with appropriate security to have devices safely locked away for the day.
What would phone free schools look like?
Panel on the future of social media
Speaking alongside Managing Director of Bauer Media Advertising Simon Kilby, Esther said it's time to act - and that the evidence of harm to children is clear: "They've got these devices in their pocket 24/7, it's so hard to monitor what it is they're accessing.
"Under 13s shouldn't be on social media in the first place but there are so many who are under 13 who are already on there.
"It's not just young people suffering with their mental health, it's also young people dying.
"They're dying from challenges they've seen online, following self harm sites and actually ending up taking their own lives."
Esther also revealed her 21 year old daughter was exposed to anorexia-based content on her social feeds - despite not trying to deliberately access it: "She's really into looking after herself and mindfulness and there was an image of this person with really slim legs talking about having hip bones and it was pro-anorexia content.
"Even when you're careful about what you're watching on your feed you're still fed content like that.
"I feel like you just can't keep children safe on social media at the moment."
Find out more about Esther Ghey's Phone Free Education campaign
Read more about the Future of Media panel event featuring Esther Ghey