Social media as bad for young people as smoking, top doctors say

Social media use ranks with smoking as a threat to the health of young people, according to the UK's most senior doctors.

In a submission to a government consultation on social media use for under-16s, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges says doctors should routinely check on screen time and social media use when seeing younger patients.

There is no consensus among the broader scientific community that screen time overall is harmful to children.

Meanwhile, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has said new measures on social media for under-16s will be brought in by the end of the year as a consultation on the matter comes to an end.

Banning social media for children, as has happened in Australia, is one of the options being considered. Kendall said a response to the consultation would come in the summer, with action taken by the end of the year.

Campaigners are split on whether an outright ban on social apps for children is the best approach.

Since March, the government has been asking parents and children if measures including app curfews and stronger age checks would improve online safety, and trialled these in some UK homes.

"The question isn't whether we're going to act - we will," Kendall told the BBC.

She said the government's scope was looking at a broad range of issues and features and how these impact children.

This could see the UK look more closely at platforms not covered by Australia's restrictions, such as Roblox and Discord.

But Kendall said the government wanted to hear "all views" from the consultation, which closes at the end of Tuesday.

"We've got to get this right, and we've got to make it last," she added.

The consultation has seen 70,000 submissions from charities, campaign groups and members of the public, giving their views on a ban or other interventions.

In its submission, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges cites as examples the physical and mental health problems caused by watching extreme violence online.

The Academy says there should be guidance for doctors and other health staff on how to spot any inappropriate or unhealthy use of social media and online content.

It recommends recording potential harms, helping fill a gap in data on the scale of the problem.

Possible restrictions include night-time curfews or features such as auto-play and infinite scroll being disabled.

People were also asked for opinions on children's access to AI chatbots, and if enforcement of age checks should be strengthened.