Our Kids, Their Screens, The Evidence

Because enough is enough. 

And because people listen to doctors...

Health Professionals for Safer Screens and Teched Off are producing a short film about the evidence-based harms of smartphones, social media and too much screen time for children. 

This film is at the heart of an awareness raising campaign. 

It will bring together respected, senior health professionals to talk about addiction, anxiety, speech and language delays, eyesight, obesity, sleep problems and more. You see it's not just the content. 

This is an urgent, public health matter. And unfortunately, many still don't realise quite how damaging these things are.

Our film will provide scientific confirmation that we need 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.

We are producing one short and one longer film, plus clips for a social media campaign to raise awareness of the issues. 

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
• Dr Lauren Bull, Consultant in Sexual Health, Genitourinary Medicine, Contraception and HIV Medicine
• Dr Susie Davies, GP, founder of charity Papaya (Parents Again Phone Addiction)

The call to action: viewers will be 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.

Allocation of funds 

Pre-production: £6,000
Production: £9,650
Post production: £10,950
PR/social media & launch event: £15,000
Campaign management: £4,800

Any funds received in excess of our goal amount will be spent on promotion to spread awareness. Similarly, we will cut our cloth according to any deficit. Please contact [email protected] if you'd like more information.