Emma and Matt Willis feel like they have "lost" their eldest children since giving them smartphones.
Matt and Emma Willis' relationship with their eldest children has been affected by smartphones
The 48-year-old TV presenter and her 41-year-old Busted singer husband - who have kids Isabelle, 15, Ace, 13 and Trixie, eight, together - have given the devices to their two older children but regret doing so because the consumption of social media is the "biggest disruptor" for them.
Matt told The Sun newspaper: "Our daughter was 11 when she got a smartphone, it’s been the biggest disruptor between us and her, I feel like I lose her to it quite a bit. I miss her.
"The only reason that we ever have any kind of bickering in our house is because of that."
Emma added: "We never allow them to have social media. Then when she was 14 she had been begging for a long time and we were like, ‘You can have Snapchat’.
"And she’s literally on it all the time.
"There are times when I definitely feel like I’ve lost them.
"Personally for me, I wished I’d never given them a smartphone."
As Emma is not fully aware of what her offspring are consuming on the internet, she feels like she is "failing as a parent".
Emma admitted: "They might be watching a video and they’ve got headphones in, you look at it and you’re like, ‘Oh, they’re just on 'Minecraft'’.
"But actually, it’s that video, but they’re listening to a 911 call of a kid who’s watching something severe happen.
"You just think they’re on that game, which is okay for them to be on.
"Once you get into this, it’s just a nightmare and a barrage of panic. I can’t help but feel like I’m failing as a parent when it comes to online use."
The couple are fronting the new two-part Channel 4 documentary 'Swiped: The School That Banned Smartphones', where they go undercover as 13-year-olds on TikTok to see what children are viewing online, as well as team up with The Stanway School, in Colchester, to challenge some Year 8 pupils to give up their smartphones for 21 days.
However, Matt and Emma found the social media platform's algorithm quickly fed them "videos showing suicide adoration and extreme violence".
The 'Year 3000' hitmaker said: "It feels so dark. I'd be worried about our kids consuming this stuff.
"Within just four hours, two supposed 13-year-olds were served numerous videos showing suicide adoration and extreme violence.
"How is this allowed to happen? Surely, if you put your age in at the beginning, they should be sending you age-appropriate videos?"
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