- Experts say more evidence is needed on children’s phone use
- They spoke before a special committee of the House of Commons
- Right now, “almost everything is correlational”
The UK government has now implemented a plan to ban under-16s from accessing social media content in apps such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok – but elsewhere in the corridors of Westminster, experts are warning politicians that there is not much hard evidence when it comes to phone use and children’s brains.
Speaking before the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee this week in the House of Commons (via The Register), academics said there simply isn’t enough data to show how social media and phone use might shape young minds as they develop.
“There is very little, if any, causal research in the early years,” said Professor Denis Mareschal, director of the Center for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck College. “Almost everything is correlational.”
These views were echoed by Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore of the University of Cambridge, who said the impact of “digital devices or social media” on adolescent brains was “almost zero”. “There are some small studies, but they haven’t been replicated and they’re purely correlational,” she said.
No specific age limit
However, while more research is needed, experts have certainly not dismissed concerns about children’s safety. The panel acknowledged that reward and self-control systems in the brain are still forming during childhood and adolescence, and that even adults find phone and social media use addictive.
Dr Dusana Dorjee, from the University of York, pointed out that time spent on a device is not time spent gaming or interacting with others. A lack of this type of multisensory input could have an impact, she suggested.
Predictably, questions have been asked about the appropriate age for children to have phones and use social media, but according to Blakemore, “what neuroscience can’t do is determine a precise age” – there is simply too much variation between individuals.
AI chatbots were also discussed, but the answer was the same: we urgently need more evidence of their effects on children and how they relate to tools like ChatGPT. Although there are many concerns and stories surrounding these child safety issues, we are still waiting for large-scale studies that can provide definitive data-driven answers.
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds.
The best laptops for every budget
