The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges submits response to social media consultation which closes this week

The UK government’s national consultation on how children use digital technology and potential restrictions on social media closes this week. The consultation received 70,000 responses from charities, campaigners, and the public with their views on a ban or possible interventions. These include banning certain features, introducing night-time curfews, disabling autoplay and infinite scroll, tightening age checks, and limiting children’s access to AI chatbots. Several organisations argue that regulation should focus on specific platform features rather than banning entire apps, with police leaders suggesting that “high-risk” features such as private messaging should be restricted for under-16s. On Tuesday, The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges submitted its response, which says doctors should routinely ask young patients about their device and social media use. Its response, which presents screen time and social media use as a parallel problem, also cites examples of physical and mental health issues caused by watching extreme violence online. While there is no consensus among the wider scientific community that screen time overall is harmful to children, Academy Chair Jeanette Dickson said that the issue had become a “unifying force” for the profession, like smoking or seatbelts in the past. Read the full submission here.