Rise in phone use by young raises public health question but experts caution against ‘screen time’ fears
One in five three- and four-year-olds in the UK have their own mobile phone, according to Ofcom research, and the rapid rise of phone use by very young children has brought the issue into the foreground as a public health question.
However, researchers in this area are generally keen to shift the narrative away from the “harms of screen time”, pointing out that the uses of phones can be so varied that this theme is both inaccurate and unhelpful.