Summary
Extended screen time has become increasingly normal for young children and teenagers. Research suggests a 52% increase in children’s screen time between 2020 and 2022, and that nearly 25% of children and young people use their smartphones in a way that is consistent with a behavioural addiction. Screen use has been found to start as early as six months of age. One in five children aged between three and four years old have their own mobile phone, increasing to one in four children by age eight and to almost all children by age twelve. The amount of time those aged 5–15 years old spent online rose from an average of 9 hours per week in 2009, to 15 hours per week in 2018.
Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing – Education Committee