Too much time on phones '˜risks kids losing art of communication'

The web of social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram has now spread so wide that a leading children’s author was moved to warn yesterday of young people risking losing the art of personal communication entirely.

Michael Morpurgo, who wrote the First World War odyssey, War Horse, said school-age children were becoming more isolated because they were misusing and overusing the technology, and that phones and tablets had become “such a strong culture of communication that children forget about talking to people”.

The author, whose most famous work explores the psyche of a young boy and his bond with his horse that even the battlefields of Europe can not break, acknowledged that “used properly”, new technology could have extraordinary benefits.

But he warned: “A lot of children are suffering from too much isolation. Incidences of depression and mental illness are increasing.

“They get on social media just like that, in their bedrooms, and that can be very isolating.”

The 73 year-old former Children’s Laureate admitted he was also guilty of spending “far too much time on an iPad when I should be talking to people”. But he called for “careful and restricted use until a child has developed some sense of what they are to be used for”.

Last year, it was calculated that nearly three quarters of British 12 to 15 year-olds have a social media profile and spend an average of 19 hours a week online.

Mr Morpurgo said: “Up until 11,12 or 13, it should be limited - you don’t have it on for more than an hour a day - parents should keep an eye and mobile phones should not be allowed in school.”

His views echo those of the charity Childline, which has reported that more children are growing up feeling lonely.

“We live in a world which should be much happier,” Mr Morpurgo said. “We have creature comforts, we’re not freezing cold, we have a health service that’s enabled us to have another 10 years of life... but we have more isolated lives.

“Isolation is the main culprit when it comes to mental illness and it is not helped by social media. There are certain areas of life, like family and school, where you communicate by words, by talking to people. It is a life skill.”

The former primary school teacher added: “We know a vast amount of bullying goes on and writing personal remarks on social media is much more insidious than fights in the playground.”

Mr Morpurgo’s books include Private Peaceful, Friend Or Foe and Why The Whales Came, while the stage adaptation of War Horse premiered at the National Theatre in 2007 and went on to tour the world.