Robbie Williams has made a firm decision about technology in his family, choosing to keep his four children without their own mobile phones for as long as possible. The singer spoke about the decision during an interview with ITV News London in August 2025, describing his own difficult relationship with the internet and the effect it can have on his mood. His comments offered a glimpse into how he approaches parenting in a household where his children are growing up around devices that are already part of everyday life for many of their classmates.
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Williams, who was 51 at the time of the interview, said his concerns came partly from the effect that spending time online could have on him personally. He described the internet as something that could leave him feeling worse after using it, rather than as a harmless way to pass the time.That experience has influenced how he thinks about introducing the same technology to his children. During the ITV interview, he questioned why he should give a young child access to something he finds difficult to manage himself. He compared it to giving a child a drug, using the analogy to explain the strength of his concerns about online exposure.His language was unusually forceful. Williams said that giving a phone to a child would amount to a form of abuse, making clear that he does not regard a personal smartphone as an ordinary childhood possession.
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Williams and his wife, actress Ayda Field, have four children: Theodora, Colette, Charlton and Beau. The family lives in West London, where the children attend school and mix with other young people who may already have access to mobile devices.The singer acknowledged that his children will encounter phones through their classmates. That does not, however, mean he intends to change his household rule. He said the children would remain without phones for as long as he felt it was possible to maintain the arrangement.His comments suggest that he is prepared for the decision to set his children apart from some of their peers. He did not describe a gradual introduction of smartphones or give a particular age at which they might be allowed to have one. Instead, he made clear that delaying access is his current preference.
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The interview also touched on the demands of being recognised and approached by strangers. Williams described himself as an introvert working in a profession that requires frequent social interaction, explaining that meeting people can make him anxious even though it is part of his job.That side of his experience provides some context for his comments about the internet. His concerns were not presented simply as a general objection to technology. He spoke about how online activity affects his own wellbeing and why he is reluctant to introduce that experience to his children at a young age.Williams did not set out a detailed family policy covering tablets, computers, social media or supervised internet access. His comments to ITV focused specifically on giving the children their own phones and his wish to delay that step.
