The Science and Technology Committee has today announced that it
will hold an inquiry into the impact of social media and
screen-use on young people’s health.
The Education Policy
Institute reports that 95% of UK 15 year olds use social
media before or after school, and half of 9–16 year olds used
smart-phones on a daily basis. The Children’s Commissioner has
found that children aged 8–12 find it hard to manage the impact
of social media.
There have been several reports on the impact of social media and
the use of screens on children’s mental and physical health. The
Royal Society for Public Health’s 2017 report ‘#StatusofMind’called
for action to promote the positive aspects of social media for
young people, whilst mitigating the potential negatives. The
Youth Select Committee’s 2017 report 'A Body Confident
Future'examined negative and positive impacts of social media
on body image. One recent US
study reported that the presence of smartphones damages
cognitive capacity. One study found
that more than one in 10 children developed high blood
pressure from excessive screen time. On the other hand,
another study found no
link between children’s use of various screens and any harm to
their health.
The ‘Life in
likes’ report from the Children’s Commissioner has
called for action to “broaden digital literacy education beyond
safety messages”; for parents to be informed about how to
“support children to use social media in a positive way”; to
“improve teachers’ knowledge about the impacts of social media on
children’s wellbeing”; and social media companies to “do more to
address underage use”.
, Chair of the Science and
Technology Committee, said:
“Social media and smartphones are increasingly
being used by children and young people. It is vital that we
understand the impact this is having on them — the benefits as
well as the risks.
“We want to determine the scale of the issues — separating out
the understandable concerns from the hard evidence, and to
identify what practical measures people are already taking to
boost the benefits and blunt the potential harms. We want to hear
from schools and young people, as well as from the industry and
Government.”
Terms of Reference
The Committee would particularly welcome the perspectives and
experiences, and details of any initiatives taken, by children,
schools and youth organisations. The Committee would welcome
written submissions addressing the issues, including:
- · What
evidence there is on the effects of social media and screen-use
on young people’s physical and mental well-being — for better and
for worse — and any gaps in the evidence;
- · The
areas that should be the focus of any further research needed,
and why;
- · The
well-being benefits from social media usage, including for
example any apps that provide mental-health benefits to users;
- · The
physical/mental harms from social media use and screen-use,
including: safety online risks, the extent of any addictive
behaviour, and aspects of social media/apps which magnify such
addictive behaviour;
- · Any
measures being used, or needed, to mitigate any potential harmful
effects of excessive screen-use — what solutions are being used?;
- · The
extent of awareness of any risks, and how awareness could be
increased for particular groups — children, schools, social media
companies, Government, etc;
- · What
monitoring is needed, and by whom;
- · What
measures, controls or regulation are needed;
- · Where
responsibility and accountability should lie for such measures;
Deadline for submissions
Written evidence should be submitted through the inquiry page
by Friday 6 April. The word limit is
3,000 words. Later submissions will be accepted, but may be too
late to inform the first oral evidence hearing. Please send
written submissions using the form on the inquiry page.
