MORE POWERFUL TOGETHER
As health professionals, we see first-hand the impacts of children’s addictive screen use and access to harmful content online. Join us in our call to instigate real and urgent change.
Raise the Age Limit for Social Media
Social media has become deeply ingrained in the daily lives of young people. For many early adolescents, scrolling, messaging, and posting are now core parts of their lives, yet 78% of Gen Z (13 years to 28 years old) say that if they were a parent, they would try to delay their child using social media as long as possible.
There is a growing body of research that warns that the risks are both real and widespread. Higher social media usage is linked to a range of mental health symptoms including depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD as well as sleep, eating disorders. There are also links to substance use, violence and crime.
The key issues
As clinicians, we witness these harmful effects daily in our clinics, and academics are now establishing causal connections. Smartphones, screens and social media usage impact every part of our children’s lives from their early cognitive development through to their physical development – obesity, eyesight, eating disorders to their social development, mental health and academic attainment.
This is a disaster for our children and for our society. Find out more below:
52% of the young people that spend most of their free time on their smartphone, wish they could spend less time on their phone
2 million children with speech and language challenges in the UK – an increase of 27% in the past 2 years
Nearly half (47%) of parents say they have had a disagreement with their child over screen time in the last few weeks
OUR LATEST RESOURCES
all resources
Briefing DocumentsGrowing up in the online world: a national consultation
This is being submitted to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) as part of its UK-wide consultation Growing up in the online world.
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Early Years, Leaflets - Health, Screen time tipsASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY, EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND SUPPORTING CHILDREN WITH SEN
Assistive technology (AT) for children with special educational needs is often misunderstood. It isn’t about giving children gadgets; it’s about providing tools that help them access learning in ways that support their development without replacing essential real‑world experiences. Misconceptions around screens, emotional regulation, and now AI can lead to inappropriate use that affects long‑term learning…
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Early Years, Leaflets - Health, Screen time tipsCHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS (SEN) AND SCREEN USE – A Guide
This guide support parents of primary aged children with SEN. It has been written by Education Psychologists, Dr Emily Barrett and Dr Rachel Reid, to advise parents on how best to use screens and to bust some of the myths out there.
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