A doctor who has appeared on a number of shows across the Beeb, ITV and Channel 4, has issued a stark health warning. Dr Rangan Chatterjee is known for starring in the BBC’s Doctor in the House, as well as being a regular guest on This Morning.
The doctor, author and podcast host also frequently shares health advice on social media. In a new clip on Thusday, he told his more than one million Instagram followers about something he said he feels very strongly about.
Dr Chatterjee went on to list three reasons why he believes the “widespread adoption of smartphones and technology into our children’s lives” to be “the most urgent public health issue of our time”. Firstly, he said that once a child has access to social media or has unrestricted internet access, “you simply do not know what kind of content they are going to be viewing”.
Sharing a shocking statistic, he said that more than 25% of 11-year-olds have viewed pornography, “and often it’s of violence, or non-consensual sex”.
The second reason, he continued “is their impact on sleep. We know that these things play havoc with our circadian biology … with our sleep when overly consumed in the evening. Yes, it’s the light exposure, but it’s also the stimulation from these devices”.
His third and final reason for believing children having smartphones to be such a pressing health issue, the doctor explained, is that “these are distraction devices”, adding: “If you feel any discomfort, you don’t have to sit with it any more, you can just distract away. Everything good in our lives comes from the ability to be present.
“Our health, our happiness, our relationships. These devices are un-training our ability to be present and training our ability to be easily distracted.”
Dr Chatterjee then urged people to watch new Channel 4 documentary Swiped: The School That Banned Smartphones, as he said: “The results [of children having their smartphones taken away from them] are absolutely phenomenal. If you haven’t [seen it] then check out Channel 4 and let me know what you think”.
