Jul 3, 2026 – 9.02amLiron Deutsch has managed the impossible. Her 11-year-old, Tom, has never asked for a phone. There’s been no nagging or whining. No claims of missing out. Turns out, his ignorance is her bliss.“It’s not even on the cards to ask for a smartphone because it’s very obvious from inside the house and in their cohorts that it’s not a thing; the kids just don’t have a smartphone, so they’re not asking for it,” Deutsch tells AFR Weekend.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Emma McGrath-CohenReporterEmma McGrath-Cohen is a journalist for The Australian Financial Review.Fetching latest articles
How anti-smartphone movement Wait Mate is spreading through schools
While the government beefs up its social media ban, parents are taking matters into their own hands and banding together in a stand against the creeping power of big tech.
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