Share

Smartphone Free Childhood – Is This Really What We Want for Childhood?

Credits
View on

Unlock full credits and more with a shots membership

Credits
View on
Show full credits
Hide full credits

Explore full credits, grab hi-res stills and more on shots Vault

Credits powered by

Back in 1984, Parliament passed the Video Recordings Act in response to the moral panic around so-called ‘video nasties’, with films such as The Driller Killer and The Evil Dead held up as threats that might be seen by children.

Four decades later, smartphones and social media have given youngsters access to messages and ideologies far more dangerous than Bruce Campbell’s spooky cabin, while the rules around them are still trying to catch up.

Taking the aesthetic of the former and using it to visualise the dangers of the latter, David Dearlove’s new film for grassroots movement Smartphone Free Childhood [SFC] finds a pair of kids in an old-school video shop being presented with titles that are truly horrifying.

Created pro bono through Arts & Sciences, Is This Really What We Want for Childhood? uses humour and nostalgia to provoke a gut-punch reaction, hopefully encouraging parents and policymakers to reconsider the role of smartphones and social media in childhood.

Share