A group of health professionals, including GPs, psychiatrists, optometrists, and speech therapists, are meeting MPs to share evidence about how smartphones affect children’s health. This discussion is linked to the Safer Phones Bill, introduced by Labour MP Josh MacAlister.
Dr Becky Foljambe, a GP and founder of Health Professionals for Safer Screens, is leading the event. Experts such as Professor Ben Carter from King’s College London and Dr Federico Campos, a neurodevelopmental psychiatrist, will explain how smartphones impact young people’s physical and mental development.
They are pushing for stronger measures to reduce these risks. The group argues that smartphones stand apart from other devices due to their addictive design, which draws children into patterns of overuse.
What Health Issues Are Connected To Smartphones?
The group is bringing evidence that links smartphone use to physical and mental health problems. Research shows that one in four young people display behaviours similar to addiction when using their phones. Some of these effects are now being seen in very young children.
Health risks include delayed language development, increased anxiety, and depression. Physical problems, such as poor posture and changes in brain structure, have also been linked to long-term smartphone use. The strain on health services has been immense, with demand for children’s mental health support growing by 477% in the past eight years. The experts believe the current trends demand immediate action to protect children from further harm.
How Does This Relate To The Online Safety Act?
The Online Safety Act has been created to protect children from harmful online content. However, the experts argue that smartphones require separate rules because their features encourage excessive use. Notifications, endless scrolling, and algorithm-driven content are examples of these design features.
The group wants stricter rules for tech companies to reduce the addictive nature of smartphones. They argue that dealing with the device itself is as important as monitoring online content. Smartphones, they say, create risks that extend beyond what the Online Safety Act is designed to handle.
This meeting seeks to push MPs toward policies that directly deal with these issues, focusing on the device rather than only its content.
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What Measures Are Being Proposed?
The experts are calling for a public health campaign to inform families about the risks of overusing smartphones. They also recommend restrictions on smartphone use for children under 16, including changes to device features that encourage overuse.
They suggest creating safer habits for children, such as limiting screen time and encouraging in-person interactions. These changes would help ease the growing strain on health services and promote healthier behaviour among young people.
The professionals believe these steps could change public attitudes and create a safer environment for children.
Why Is This A Priority Now?
Health professionals report seeing the effects of smartphone overuse in their daily work. From poor posture to increased rates of anxiety, the evidence of harm is mounting. They compare this situation to past public health efforts, such as campaigns against smoking, which successfully reduced harm through awareness and regulation.
Dr Becky Foljambe has called on policymakers to act swiftly, saying, “Health professionals have stayed quiet for too long on this issue, and it is time to change this. If a device or its addictive use is being evidenced as causing harm to our children, then it is our job as doctors to act to prevent this and educate for the safer use and supply of these devices in the same way as we would for alcohol and smoking. This is a modern-day impediment to the healthy development of our young, especially the most vulnerable. It is now our moral responsibility to change things for the better.”
What Could Be The Outcome?
The experts hope this meeting will encourage MPs to strengthen support for the Safer Phones Bill and consider policies that specifically tackle the risks tied to smartphones. They also want to spark greater awareness among parents and the public about how to manage device use in children.
In the long term, they believe these actions could reduce the health problems linked to smartphones and foster healthier habits for the next generation.
