A shocking new film - "Our kids, their screens, the evidence" - lays bare the devastating impact of smartphones and screen exposure on children highlighting evidence so stark, it has health experts demanding urgent government action.
The launch - which debuts today - coincides with a powerful new campaign by a national network of health professionals calling for a public reckoning over what they describe as a “silent epidemic” of screen-related harm in young people.
Backed by a coalition of doctors, psychiatrists, speech therapists, psychologists and ophthalmologists, the film is based on a damning body of evidence revealing: 40 per cent of toddlers under two already own a tablet, with children aged 2–4 spending over two hours a day on screens.
A typical 12-year-old now spends 29 hours a week on their smartphone — equal to a part-time job.
A shocking new film lays bare the devastating impact of smartphones and screen exposure on children highlighting evidence so stark, it has health experts demanding urgent government action
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Speech and language delays now affect 1.9 million children in the UK, up 27 per cent in just two years, with one in four NHS speech therapy posts unfilled.
One in five children in the UK are now impacted by short-sightedness. Every additional hour of screen time daily increases the risk of short-sightedness by 21 per cent.
ADHD diagnoses have surged over 50 per cent since the early 2000s. The research evidence shows excessive screen time may significantly contribute to the development of ADHD symptoms in children.
Girls using social media heavily are twice as likely to suffer anxiety. Experts say the consequences of excessive smartphone use in children are catastrophic, with language delays, cognitive decline, attention problems, emotional dysregulation, addiction, and disrupted sleep all on the rise.
According to WHO guidance, children under two should have no screen time at all, and under-fives should have no more than one hour a day. But new research shows these limits are being widely exceeded.
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The group, Health Professionals for Safer Screens, working with Teched Off, is urging the Government to launch an NHS-led public health awareness campaign on the risks of excessive screen use.
They are calling for stricter regulations to hold tech companies accountable, and support legislation to protect children. The campaign also includes a mass call to action urging the public to write to their MPs.
Dr Sanjiv Nichani OBE, senior paediatrician and member of Health Professionals for Safer Screens, said: “I now routinely see children in clinic who are non-verbal, not because they can’t speak, but because they spend most of their waking hours in front of a screen. They’re missing critical human interaction.
Dr Becky Foljambe, GP and Founder of Health Professionals for Safer Screens said: “This film highlights some of the serious harms that clinicians are observing in their daily practice, and academics are concluding in their research, around children’s screen use.
A typical 12-year-old now spends 29 hours a week on their smartphone — equal to a part-time job
PA"These negative impacts on whole-child health are now very significant. It is evidence of safety that we lack, not evidence of harms, and it is now imperative we exercise the precautionary principle and launch an NHS public health campaign to educate and support parents and engage professional colleagues.
"This film is also an urgent call for a change in legislation to protect our children.”
The documentary features disturbing testimony from frontline professionals who warn the damage is escalating rapidly
It claims Apps like TikTok and YouTube are engineered to be addictive, targeting the developing brains of children.
“This is not about tech innovation,” says one expert in the film. “This is about protecting poorly children.”
The film highlights evidence showing the causal links between screen time and depression, anxiety, and poor sleep. And it reveals how teachers are increasingly reporting children entering school with underdeveloped language, poor concentration and limited social skills.
