Always on
This project successfully funded on 7th March 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
Our Kids, Their Screens, The Evidence
Bath, Bath and North East Somerset, United Kingdom
Aim
In this film doctors speak out - on behalf of children - about the evidence based harms of smartphones and social media.
A short film by Health Professionals for Safer Screens and Teched Off about our children and their tech
Here is the link to Our Kids, Their Screens, The Evidence with a very easy email your MP form on the same page.
This is a public health matter. And with enough awareness and support, we can turn things round for our children.
Our film has provided scientific confirmation that this is urgently change. It aims to:
- Encourage legislation to restrict smartphones and social media for under 16s.
- Give parents solid reasons to change their minds about giving their children smartphones/unfettered online access.
- Persuade other health professionals to get involved – from GPs in their surgeries to public health figures.
Senior Consultant Paediatrician Dr Sanjiv Nichani OBE:
"As a senior paediatrician I'm very concerned that we are in middle of a screendemic, with soaring rates of mental illness, cognitive impairment, hyperactivity, poor sleep, speech and language delays, plus eyesight, hearing and postural problems amongst our children and young people."
Participants confirmed:
- Dr Becky Foljambe, GP, founder of Health Professionals for Safer Screens
- Dr Ben Carter, Professor of Medical Statistics at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London
- Dr Giovanni Giaroli Medical Director / Consultant Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist at Giaroli Centre for Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry
- Dr Federico Campo Deputy Medical Director / Child, Adolescent & Adult Psychiatrist at Giaroli Centre for Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry
- Sandy Chappell Independent speech & language therapist
- Dr Daniel Hardiman McCartney MBE Lead clinical adviser Royal College of Optometrists
- Professor Matthew Sadlier Consultant Psychiatrist former President of the Irish Medical Organisation
The call to action: viewers are encouraged to write to their MPs to urge they participate in fixing this urgent issue.
About Health Professionals for Safer Screens
Health Professionals for Safer Screens have given evidence to the private members' bill hearings and to the Conservative party (founder, Dr Foljambe talking about it here). They also co-ordinated this letter to the Chief Medical Officers to request they change their advice on screen use for children.
Above: Health Professionals for Safer Screens at the House of Commons with Labour MPs Josh MacAlister and Simon Opher, and a student from John Wallis academy. Below: a recent Mumsnet event.
About Teched Off
Teched Off's work includes these video guides for parents to help them set controls, plus information on Addiction, Pornography and Relationships, Schools and Learning, Mental Health and Babies and Young Children. If you're in any doubt as to what's going on, please take a look at these pages and more in our Learn section.
Also a YouGov survey on parental attitudes and a series of voxpops like this one: Should Smartphones Have Age Restrictions. On X alone this video had 47,000 views. We should listen to what young people themselves are saying. Some quotes from our voxpops are below.
Teched Off's founder has appeared on BBC Points West, BBC Scotland, Times Radio, Sky News Radio and the Spectator podcast.
She has given talks to parents in Frome, at the Planet Local Summit event in Bristol and at the Tower Hamlets Online Safety Conference.
Both Becky and Miranda are parents of teenagers so have first hand experience of many of these issues.
Health Professionals for Safer Screens and Teched Off have a solid base of support from a group of MPs, peers, educationalists and other similar organisations such as Safe Screens and Delay Smartphones, who will promote this film amongst their own networks.
We are not anti technology. Indeed Teched Off founder Miranda has worked for numerous tech companies. Technology provides us with brilliant tools and resources. Used wisely, it is a force for all sorts of good.
But our kids need protecting, now.
Now that we have produced the film, further donations will be spent on promotion to spread awareness. Please contact [email protected] if you'd like more information.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made