# @royalcollegeofgps on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DLcLl_vKXSG
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/31960659-royalcollegeofgps-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/c2e1b7c652.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-06-28T10:00:09.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Royal College of GPs (@royalcollegeofgps) — https://gondola.cc/royalcollegeofgps

## Caption

Adolescence accurately portrays that it is the most vulnerable children who are the worst impacted by these devices. Two alarming examples of this are the dramatic rise in young men recruited via social media to county lines and the increasingly high number of children and young people being arrested for terrorism offences.

So what does this have to do with GPs and general practice? It is commonplace for us to ask young people about their sleep, happiness at school and home, alcohol or drug use, and ideas of self-harm or suicide. Indeed, the latter is an essential component of a safe mental health consultation. (In my training we failed vivas if we didn’t ask about this). Research shows that the average 12 year-old spends 29 hours a week, equivalent to a part-time job on their smartphone, and over a third of adolescents report continuous online contact. Yet how many of us are routinely asking about screen use in our consultations with young people?

By asking about screen use in a child’s daily life, we can explore the extent of any disturbance to sleep, mood, education, attention and relationships, or any exposure to harmful content. Health Professionals for Safer Screens are calling for an urgent NHS public health campaign on this issue, with visible-to-all, consistent guidance for potential and existing parents and those working with children.

There is currently no specific NHS guidance for parents on children’s screen use. However, a key area of quality improvement that we can all action now, with no other guidance or government instruction, is to ask about screen use in every child and adolescent consultation.

Dr Rebecca Foljambe considers the dangers of social media and screen time – and argues for a public campaign about it. Read the full article in GP Frontline, 🔗in bio.

[Image description: photo of Dr Rebecca Foljambe and quote about asking about screen use in a child's daily life as part of GP consultations.]

#RCGP #RoyalCollegeofGPs #RoyalCollegeofGeneralPractitioners #RoyalCollege #TeamGP #GeneralPractice #PrimaryCare #GP #Doctor #Healthcare #ScreenTime #ChildHealth #Adolescent #SocialMedia #PublicHealth

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## Tags

publichealth, childhealth, teamgp, generalpractice, healthcare, socialmedia, doctor, gp, adolescent, royalcollegeofgps, royalcollegeofgeneralpractitioners, rcgp, royalcollege, screentime, primarycare

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