United Kingdom, June 26 -- Lauren Cowell has banned her 12-year-old son Eric and his friends from using smartphones when they have playdates and sleepovers.

The 48-year-old entrepreneur, who has Eric with her partner, music mogul Simon Cowell, 66, been actively campaigning for the UK government to raise the age of consent for social media users to 16 - which was recently given the green light - and she has now revealed some of her at-home boundaries around technology.

However, she risks becoming the "least popular mum" with Eric's friends.

She wrote on Instagram: "This has the potential to make me the least popular mum in my sons friendship group...

"Every family has different boundaries around technology and this is one that has made...