South Holland MP Sir John Hayes has called for government action on the amount of screen time young people experience.
He spoke at Parliament last week calling for greater regulation of how long young people use phones, computers or TVs for, calling it a ‘growing menace’.
It follows MPs voting against a ban on under 16s being able to use social media.
The Conservative MP also bemoaned ‘the mistakes of successive governments to take so long to regulate’ though also didn’t make suggestions as to what regulation might be possible.
“Screen time is now a profound problem across the board,” he told Parliament. “This is not just about phones; it is about all kinds of devices. We now know not only that it affects children’s confidence in communicating, but that their cerebral capacity is being altered over time.
“I hope that the Government will seize the initiative and send the very clear message from this place that children and screen time are not happy bedfellows, and we really must return to a more traditional way of bringing up the next generation.
“When someone’s sense of what is normal is altered beyond recognition, it becomes impossible to navigate the vicissitudes that are an inevitable part of maturing, and that is where we are.
“This House took 25 years to regulate the internet at all – far too long – over successive Governments, but now the whole house can come together to protect our children from this menace.”
