SChildren’s smartphone use is at a critical juncture. Many of us living in the UK are increasingly aware of the risks associated with them. And as a child and adolescent psychiatrist, I’m more concerned than most. I see firsthand the serious damage that smartphone use is doing to young people’s mental health. The majority of children I see in my NHS clinic over the age of 10 now have smartphones. An increasing proportion of patients have problems related to or exacerbated by technology use.
We are witnessing severe mental illness resulting from excessive social media use, online bullying, screen addiction, or falling prey to online child sexual exploitation. We are seeing children disappearing into the online world, losing sleep, becoming increasingly inattentive, impulsive, emotionally dysregulated, and aggressive. Children are paralyzed by anxiety and fear of missing out on opportunities. People who spend hours alone, cut off from their loved ones, and hours spent talking to strangers.
Children and adolescents increasingly seek comfort and validation from online peer groups. Unfortunately, some of them encourage self-harm, eating disorders, and even suicide. Last year I worked with a young man who was struggling greatly with his mental health and self-harm. I then learned that they were uploading their experiences and actions to TikTok, livestreaming their content from A&E departments and psychiatric inpatient wards to thousands of followers and supporters.
Children’s self-esteem and self-image are at an all-time low, and levels of depression and suicidal thoughts are at an all-time high. It’s no secret among mental health professionals that there is a direct link between smartphone use and real-world harm.
Average 12-year-old in Britain today spend 29 hours a week – equivalent to a part-time job – on your smartphone. Having access to so much information at such a young age has a huge impact on the development of the nervous system. Where before we may have received a few ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) referrals each week, we are now inundated with referrals. Parents are unable to put their children to sleep or make them sit still. They are having a hard time concentrating in school, and education has taken an unprecedented hit. As adults, we’ve seen how our attention spans have been affected in the years since our lives went online. I can’t remember the last time I saw someone watch a movie without scrolling through their phone or checking their messages. Our brains continue to change, and children are not immune to them.
At the same time, our country’s young people are becoming increasingly isolated and insular. The average amount of time teens spend with friends each day has plummeted by 65% since 2010. For hundreds of years, adolescence has triggered a period of social “herd psychology.” Historically, that might have meant pressure to join the football team or go out with friends. But now, this interaction is increasingly taking place in WhatsApp groups and social media, with dire consequences.
Confined spaces without adult supervision can lead children down a disturbing rabbit hole. At the clinic, we hear of viral suicide pacts and attempts at self-harm being shared by children as young as 10 years old. For highly vulnerable children who may not have many friends in the classroom, the temptation to be accepted online can feel addictive, if at all. It means participating in something very dangerous. In recent years, many cases of child suicide related to social media have attracted attention. The most striking thing is that often parents do not understand what is happening before the tragedy occurs.
This should be a turning point. As advocates for children’s mental health, it is clear that we are forcing children to grow up long before they are ready. My heart sinks every time I see another young person in the clinic feeling hopeless about their future. They are deeply embedded in an alternate reality created by their mobile phones.
In my family, we hope to keep our children off smartphones and social media until they are at least 16 years old. Our brains continue to develop until we are about 25 years old, but before that our thinking abilities begin to develop. They are limited in their ability to make decisions, plan, solve problems, and exercise self-control rationally and based on facts rather than emotions. Countless adults struggle to adjust their phone usage to stay productive, make impulse purchases online, and fall for the many scams. Why do we expect our children to cope?
But I know how difficult this is when all your friends have access to it. That is why it is not enough for parents to make individual choices. As a society, we need to address this issue urgently. campaigns such as smartphone free childhood There is growing momentum to encourage parents to collectively make decisions for the well-being of their children. But from now on, the state must also intervene. I hope the government wakes up to what is happening to young people and takes these tough decisions out of our hands.
As told by Lucy Pasha Robinson
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Dr Emily Samer is a Consultant Child and Youth Psychiatrist in the NHS (and a mother of two).
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In the UK, a youth suicide charity papyrus In the UK and Ireland, you can contact us on 0800 068 4141 or email [email protected]. Samaritan You can contact us on freephone 116 123 or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In the United States, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Get support on 988 or chat. You can also text HOME to 741741 to be connected to a Crisis Text Line counselor. Australian crisis support services lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at: befrienders.org
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