The teenagers challenged to ditch their smartphones

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How long could you go without using your smartphone? The BBC's Education Reporter, Kristian Johnson, put the challenge to 10 teenagers to see if they could ditch their smartphones for five whole days. In this episode of our 5 Minutes On podcast, he follows them over the course of a week to see how they got on. Would they be able to resist the temptation of messaging their friends on WhatsApp? And could they stay off TikTok and Snapchat? In a survey of 2,000 13 to 18-year-olds, conducted by BBC Radio 5 Live and BBCBitesize, young people were asked about various aspects of life, including mental health and their smartphone habits. The findings of the survey, carried out by polling company Survation, external, suggest: • 23% agree that smartphones should be banned for under-16s • 35% think social media should be banned for under-16s • 50% say not having their smartphone on them makes them feel anxious. Last year, this figure was slightly higher (56%) (Image: Getty)