About the consultation
The Department for Education launched a call for evidence to inform the development of parental guidance on screen use for children and young people aged 5–16 years. The consultation sought evidence on:
- the impacts of screen use on health, wellbeing and development
- different types of screen-based activities and their associated benefits and risks
- problematic or compulsive screen use
- the role of parents and families
- effective interventions and support for managing screen use
- inequalities affecting different groups of children and young people
- policy and regulatory approaches to children's digital experiences.
See the call for evidence on the DfE webpage
Our response
As digital technologies become increasingly embedded in education, healthcare and everyday life, it is important guidance on screen use reflects both the benefits and risks to children’s health outcomes. Our response, which you can download below, highlights the need for a balanced, evidence-based approach that recognises children's rights, developmental needs and individual circumstances.
- More about our response
We emphasised that discussions around screen use should move beyond focusing solely on the amount of time spent online. The impact of screen use depends on factors including the purpose of use, the content accessed, platform design and the individual child's age, development and circumstances.
Our engagement with children and young people found that digital technologies can offer substantial benefits including; supporting education and learning, providing access to health information and management of long-term health conditions, as well as maintaining relationships with family and friends.
However, positive wellbeing and health outcomes for children and young people are supported by social interaction, good sleep, healthy eating, and physical activity, which can be displaced by screen use, creating an opportunity cost for health and wellbeing. Paediatricians and CYP also identified significant risks and negative outcomes associated with screen time including; exposure to harmful or age-inappropriate content, negative impacts on mental health and wellbeing and disruption to sleep.
There is also a range of associations between excessive screen use and wider outcomes, particularly relating to mental health, wellbeing and social development. We highlighted that certain groups may rely on, and benefit from, digital technologies more heavily, including children and young people with disabilities and long-term health conditions who can use phones, apps and connected devices to support communication, accessibility and medical care. Guidance and policy should therefore recognise these nuances and potential benefits beyond screen use solely for recreational use and can be essential for participation, independence and health management.
In order to support families and children and young people (CYP) in managing their screen use to support positive health outcomes, interventions such as education, digital literacy and digital screens are vital.
- Other resources on screen time
RCPCH does not currently formally endorse resources on screen time. However there are a range of helpful evidence-based resources which paediatricians may wish to refer to when discussing screen time with children, young people and their families, which are referenced in:
Our overarching recommendations
- Make online experiences suitable for different ages by mandating clear, child-friendly principles: developmentally appropriate age limits, meaningful protection based on age and risk across the entire digital environment, not just social media.
- Remove the commercial incentives for harmful digital design: UK government must prohibit the use of targeted advertising, profiling and manipulative design features which are known to increase time spent online.
- Strong leadership and accountability: Leadership providing alignment across government departments , regulation and enforcement with clear lines of responsibility and robust accountability for delivering safe online experience for children.