Stuart Harrington doubts that such a ban will work, while Oscar Acton spells out the benefits of smartphone access for school students

The members of the WhatsApp group Smartphone Free Childhood have an unrealistic expectation if they believe that banning under-14s from possessing smartphones and trying to prevent under-16s accessing social media is a practical way of protecting them from the very real dangers that the internet can unveil ( ‘It went nuts: Thousands join UK parents calling for smartphone-free childhood’, 17 February ).

If the first duty of any parent or guardian is to provide a safe and healthy environment for their children, then showing them how to access and use the internet safely is their responsibility. Roads are also potentially dangerous for children, but we do not ban cars – instead we spend time teaching young people the safe way to navigate through busy traffic.

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On the banks of Myanmar’s largest river, the photographer captured the joy and spontaneity of five young boys

Ayeyarwady River is Myanmar’s largest, and it was on its sandbanks near Sagaing Bridge that Kyaw Zay Yar Lin found these children playing.

“I often go there, because it’s such a beautiful place,” Kyaw says. “I go to relax, enjoy the weather and the views, but that day I approached these five boys playing in the mud and asked permission to take their photo.

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A slick screen, top chip and long battery life are let down by lack of advanced AI and short support life

OnePlus’s latest top phone can’t shake the feeling of being left behind by rivals.

Even with a sleek appearance, speedy software and longer battery life the OnePlus 12 is devoid of the much-hyped AI tools packed into handsets from Samsung, Google and others. It feels more like a phone from 2020 than from the new era of artificial intelligence.

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Tech firm condemns streamer for seeking to overturn its App Store rules as EU judgement is expected

Apple has condemned Spotify over the long-running competition complaint filed with the EU that could see the tech company face a huge fine if found guilty.

After reports the bloc has concluded its investigation into the music streaming service’s claims of anti-competitive behaviour by Apple over its App Store rules, with the prospect of a €500m fine, the iPhone manufacturer has accused Spotify of trying to get “limitless” access to its tools without paying.

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Putting your device in a bag of rice ‘could allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone’, the company warned

No matter how your phone gets soaked – you’re caught in a downpour, you drop it in the bath, or you fall in a pool – perhaps the best-known folk remedy is to put the device in a bag of rice . The dry, absorbent rice should help suck out the moisture, rescuing your device, so the theory goes. Experts have pointed out that’s a bad idea for years – and now Apple is officially warning users not to do it.

“Don’t put your iPhone in a bag of rice. Doing so could allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone,” the company says in a recent support note spotted by Macworld . Along with the risk of damage, testing has suggested uncooked rice is not particularly effective at drying the device.

“Don’t dry your iPhone using an external heat source or compressed air.”

“Don’t insert a foreign object, such as a cotton swab or a paper towel, into the connector.”

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Most schools in England already ban mobiles. If it wants to make a change, the government should fund youth clubs and social activities

Look around next time you are out and you will see that children’s addiction to smartphones nowadays often begins long before they’ve started school. By the age of 12, 97% of children will own their own phone. There is a growing body of evidence pointing to an alarming link between the time children spend on smartphones, and the access they provide to social media, with the likelihood of experiencing bullying, problems with self-esteem and even self-harm. So, in a bid to curb the damage to the next generation, the government has now issued statutory guidance on prohibiting their use in schools altogether.

As a (reluctantly) online millennial, I grew up alongside the internet. Our relationship has developed from chatting on MSN and playing Club Penguin on the clunky PC in the corner of the dining room (so long as my mum didn’t need to use the landline), to the iPhone that now lives in my pocket, seems as attached to my body as my own limbs and contains much of what I need to survive. But I am also a secondary school teacher, and you only need a single break-time spent dealing with the drama caused by a social-media comment to conclude that phones in the classroom bring nothing but disruption to what should be a calm and safe place of learning.

Nadeine Asbali is a secondary school teacher in London

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The London-based food photographer created an image that makes you want to dive in and eat it

‘Where do we start … all ice-cream is mashed potato?” asks Georgia Glynn-Smith, food photographer and creator of the London School of Food & Film online masterclasses . When it comes to the industry secrets on photographing food – something she has done for cookbooks by the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Mary Berry, and Tesco and M&S TV adverts, she knows it all.

“Anyone can photograph food, but one of the things you need to figure out is what is it that makes you hungry? Is it the melting cheese, the flutter of icing sugar, the drizzle of chocolate, the falling slice of perfectly cooked beef, the crunch of the roast potato? Focus here will make your audience want to dive in and eat it.”

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Seine-Port is introducing restrictions on phone use in streets, shops and parks – but young people say there’s little else to do

A picture of a smartphone with a red line through it serves as a warning in the window of a hairdresser’s shop in a French village that has voted to ban people scrolling on their phones in public. “Everyone is struggling with too much screen time,” said Ludivine, a cardiology nurse, as she had her hair cut into a bob, leaving her phone out of sight in her bag. “I voted in favour, this could be a solution.”

Seine-Port, in the Seine-et-Marne area south of Paris, with a population of fewer than 2,000 people, last weekend voted yes in a referendum to restrict smartphone use in public, banning adults and children from scrolling on their devices while walking down the street, while sitting with others on a park bench, while in shops, cafes or eating in restaurants and while parents wait for their children in front of the school gates. Those who might check their phone’s map when lost are instead being encouraged to ask for directions.

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Titanium superphone has serious speed, battery life and unrivalled camera zoom but is ultra-priced

Samsung’s latest smartphone packs a plethora of the latest flashy AI tools in an attempt to improve text, images, video and search – with both hits and misses.

The new Galaxy S24 Ultra comes equipped with a combination of Samsung and Google’s latest AI layered on top of one of the most capable phones on the market, filled to the brim with competition-beating specs.

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