The UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology asked for this work after the UK Chief Medical Officer’s 2019 review found there wasn’t enough solid evidence linking smartphones to children’s mental health to shape policy confidently.
A group from the University of Cambridge, working alongside researchers at several top UK universities, is leading this project. The goal is to help policymakers get a clearer picture of how kids’ wellbeing relates to their smartphone use, including social media and messaging apps. This will guide future government decisions in this field.
Dr Amy Orben, who heads the project at the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (MRC CBU) at Cambridge, said: “There is huge concern about the impact of smartphone use on children’s health, but the evidence base remains fairly limited. While the government is under substantial time pressure to make decisions, these will undoubtedly be better if based on improved evidence.
“This is a complex and rapidly evolving issue, with both potential harms and benefits associated with smartphone use. Technology is changing by the day, and scientific evidence creation needs to evolve and innovate to keep up.
“Our focus will be on deepening our causal understanding of the effects of new technologies, particularly over short timescales, to ensure that decisions are informed, timely and evidence-based.”
Dr Orben will lead a Project Delivery Team with Consortium Members from Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford and York universities as well as the London School of Economics. They aim to figure out which research methods and data sources best reveal potential causal links between social media or smartphones and young people’s health and development.
Deputy lead Dr Amrit Kaur Purba from MRC CBU added: “The impact of social media on young people is a pressing issue, and our project will ensure the research community is in a strong position to provide policymakers with the causal and high-quality insights they need. While we don’t expect this to be straightforward, our research will leverage diverse expertise from across the UK to deliver a comprehensive and informed response to make recommendations for how research in this area should be supported in future.”
The team will go over existing studies about how smartphones and social media affect children’s mental health, wellbeing, physical health habits, lifestyle choices, behaviour patterns related to health as well as school performance. They’ll consider different views out there while highlighting where more study could really add something new.
They’ll also check out various ways researchers have tried studying cause-and-effect here – noting that online habits change fast along with tech itself – plus think about how experiences of vulnerable groups like LGBTQ+ youth or those with special needs or mental health challenges can be included going forward.
This way they’ll map out what kinds of future studies might produce clear causal proof about how smartphones/social media influence key aspects of child growth within two or three years ahead.
Peter Kyle , Technology Secretary , said : “The online world offers immense opportunities for young people to connect and learn. Ensuring they can do so in an environment which puts their safety first is my priority and will guide this government ’ s action on online safety.
“That ’ s why we have launched new research , led by the University of Cambridge with support from other top UK universities , to better understand the complex relationship between technology and young people ‘ s wellbeing.
“This vital research will build a trusted evidence base for future action , helping us to protect and empower the next generation towards a safer and more positive digital future.”
