UK Doctors Say Social Media Harms to Children Are Comparable to Smoking

Overview

• On Tuesday, May 26 the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges told Parliament that unrestricted social media exposure should be treated as a public‑health problem comparable to smoking and not wearing seat belts.
• A survey of clinicians published with the report found that about half of 454 doctors treat at least one child each week for mental distress or physical injury linked to online content and that some report cases of radicalization from hateful or extreme material.
• The findings arrive as the government closes a public consultation opened in January and Technology Minister Liz Kendall has said ministers will act on the responses before the end of the year.
• Options under consideration include raising the minimum access age to 16, tougher age verification, app time limits and disabling features such as autoplay and infinite scroll, while Meta has proposed device‑level age checks.
• Campaigners, bereaved families and some police groups press for strong restrictions or bans, critics warn that bans can be evaded and enforcement will be hard for global platforms, and policymakers are weighing international precedents and recent US litigation as they plan next steps.