Stories

Tue, 26 May 2026

Tue, 26 May 2026 Social media as bad for young people as smoking, top doctors say

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges says doctors should routinely check on screen time and social media use when seeing younger patients.

* UK's most senior doctors rank social media use alongside smoking as a threat to young people's health
* Academy of Medical Royal Colleges recommends that doctors ask patients under 16 about their screen time and social media use
* Technology Secretary Liz Kendall says new measures on social media for under-16s will be introduced by the end of the year, including possible ban or restrictions such as night-time curfews
* Consultation has received 70,000 submissions from charities, campaign groups, and members of the public
* Doctors are calling for guidance on how to spot unhealthy use of social media and record potential harms
* Campaigners are split on whether an outright ban is the best approach, with some supporting restrictions such as age checks or app curfews
* Government plans to consider restrictions on platforms not covered by Australia's restrictions, including Roblox and Discord
* Possible measures include disabling features such as auto-play and infinite scroll, strengthening enforcement of age checks, and restricting access to AI chatbots.