Screen time: 11 ways mobile phone use impacts children - according to Parliament's Education Committee

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The House of Commons' Education Committee took a deep dive into the effects of screen time on children last year 🔍
  • Children’s screen time has shot up in the last few years, and many with phones are now meeting the criteria of behavioural addiction
  • A major review last year found that for young children, the benefits of screen time are significantly outweighed by the risks
  • Researchers, non-profits and other experts say that evidence links serious mental, physical, and educational impacts to excessive phone use

At home and in the classroom alike, educators, experts, and parents have raised serious concerns about what too much time glued to a smartphone screen is doing to children.

A 2024 report published by Parliament’s Education Select Committee - which can review evidence and makes recommendations to the Government - found that young people’s screen time has shot up in recent years, with a whopping 52% between 2020 and 2022. One in four children with a smartphone used it in a way that was consistent with behavioural addiction, it continued.

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Almost all children in England have their own phone by the age of 12. In February last year, the Government updated its guidance to recommend all schools consider restricting or banning their use, while a private member’s bill introduced later in the year is pushing for a full ban.

But smartphones now play a large part in people’s day-to-day lives, and plenty of adults have and use them too. So why exactly is it considered a problem for young people? Here’s what the Education Committee’s official report had to say:

What are the effects of smartphone use on children?

The House of Commons' Education Committee took a deep dive into the effects of screen time on children last yearThe House of Commons' Education Committee took a deep dive into the effects of screen time on children last year
The House of Commons' Education Committee took a deep dive into the effects of screen time on children last year | (Image: National World/Adobe Stock)

The Parliamentary Education Committee concluded that the “overwhelming weight of evidence” they had seen suggested that the potential harms of screen time and social media use significantly outweighed the benefits. These include evidence that online educational platforms could help children learn and engage with different subjects, as well as sometimes offering safe spaces and community for children in marginalised groups.

The report said the negative effects were particularly pronounced for young or vulnerable children. “We are extremely concerned at the level of harmful content children and young people can be exposed to online, and how it can affect their mental health, physical health and educational outcomes,” the committee added.

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Here are some of the key evidence-backed impacts flagged in the report:

Mental health

1. Young people’s overall mental health and wellbeing has declined in recent years, with research suggesting a correlation with more screen time.

2. Children were at risk of encountering online harm, including racism, misogynistic abuse, pornography, and material promoting violence or self-harm. A report by the Children’s Commissioner found that 79% of young people had come across violent pornography before the age of 18.

3. Images posted online could have a negative impact on young people’s self-perception. Girls and young women felt particularly pressured to conform with the images of bodies they see on social media, the report said, but body dissatisfaction and eating disorders were rapidly rising in boys and young men too.

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4. Extended screen time has become increasingly normal - and young people are using phones in a way that suggests behavioural addiction, according to research by King’s College London. This could manifest as feeling panicky or upset when the phone is unavailable, finding it difficult to control time spent on the phone, and using it instead of other enjoyable activities.

5. Smartphones allow cyberbullying regardless of physical location, often by many more people. Data from the Office for National Statistics suggests one in five children aged 10-15 had experienced at least one type of bullying behaviour online.

Physical health and development

6. A University of Leeds researcher says that many parents had reported noticing physical changes in their children. They were concerned that social networks online were preventing young people from meeting up face-to-face or undertaking physical activities together.

7. Non-profits and children’s literacy organisations warned the committee that children were often sedentary when watching screens - reducing their physical activity, which helped build motor skills. Negative effects of excessive screen time included hand and wrist weakness, grip and hand-pinch strength, and sleep deprivation.

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Education

8. Teaching union NASUWT argues that smartphones disrupt pupils’ learning both at home and in the classroom - with children taking up to 20 minutes to refocus on learning after browsing the internet or noticing a notification.

9. Frequent smartphone use may make it harder for educators to identify learning difficulties in pupils, with the Association of School and College Leaders saying they can be masked or replicated by the effects of excessive screen use.

10. One study of children aged 8-11 years highlighted that children who spent more than two hours a day using smartphones for fun had worse working memory, processing speed, attention levels, language skills, and executive function than those who didn’t.

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11. Screen time can also be damaging to a child’s sleep pattern, experts warned, with children often using devices when they were supposed to be sleeping. They linked poor sleep to mental health issues like depression, inability to concentrate, and poorer educational outcomes overall.

If you’d like to find out more, check out our other coverage on this topic. You can find out about the 20 common signs your child's phone use or online gaming is becoming a problem online here.

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