What good is a social media ban when screens are rife in classrooms? | Letters
Your recent coverage of children’s screen use (How screen time affects toddlers: ‘We’re losing a big part of being human’, 22 January) highlights an issue that still receives remarkably little attention: the amount of screen time built into the school day.While politicians debate bans on social media for under‑16s, and teachers report children trying to swipe the pages of books, it is puzzling that the question of screen time in schools is left out of discussions.Every morning, most primary school children are greeted by an electronic whiteboard glowing in the classroom, often left on all day.Lessons are delivered as slides, tablets are used for activities, and many schools require homework to be completed online.When it rains, “wet play” means more screen‑based entertainment.
Movement breaks are delivered via YouTube routines.The message is clear: learning, leisure and even physical activity all happen on a screen.Unsurprisingly, children internalise this as normal.We know excessive screen time harms children’s development and mental and physical health, just as we know free play and time in nature are greatly beneficial.Yet, under curriculum pressures, real‑world interactions are replaced by on-screen content.
No social media ban will compensate for an education system that conditions four‑year‑olds to turn to screens for every task.Parents are urged to limit screens at home, but no equivalent guidance seems to exist for schools.As a parent, I am not calling for the abolition of technology, but for its purposeful, mindful use.Our children deserve an education that prioritises people, conversations, outdoor play and hands‑on exploration.We need to start asking: how much screen time is my child exposed to at school, and why?Kristyna SkriczkaLondon I am writing in response to your article on the impact of screen time on young children, to share my perspective as an educator experienced in working closely with children with and without special needs across a wide range of ages.
Current research consistently shows that early and prolonged exposure to screens is associated with negative outcomes in children’s cognitive, linguistic, and socio-emotional development.Excessive screen use in the early years has been linked to reduced language acquisition, poorer attention and executive functioning, difficulties with emotional regulation, and weaker social engagement skills.These effects are observed across diverse developmental profiles, not only among children with identified needs.In my professional experience, these findings are reflected daily.I increasingly observe children struggling to process, produce and meaningfully use information, alongside challenges with attention, communication, social interaction and emotional regulation.
Excessive screen use is also replacing human interaction, reducing opportunities for children to develop language, emotional skills and social connections.Over time, it may encourage individualistic behaviours and a preference for instant gratification over patience, collaboration and curiosity.At the same time, this issue cannot be framed as parental failure.Families face significant pressures, and screens often become a necessary coping tool.Technology will not disappear; the challenge lies in balance, awareness and shared accountability.
Parents need clear, accessible information about developmental risks alongside practical alternatives.Responsibility must also extend to content producers and platforms.Thank you for bringing this important issue to public attention.Your article contributes meaningfully to a necessary and timely conversation about how we support children’s development and families in an increasingly digital world.Arianny Avrile SaviñònNew York, US Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The long-term cost of high student debt in the UK is not just for graduates | Heather Stewart
“It is not right that people who don’t go to university are having to bear all the cost for others to do so,” Rachel Reeves remarked this week, amid the increasingly angry row about student loans.But if something is “not right” here, it’s the complex and confusing loan system, and the debt burden borne by some recent graduates of English and Welsh universities.Since the chancellor slapped a three-year freeze on the repayment threshold for Plan 2 loans at November’s budget – covering students whose courses kicked off in the decade following 2012 – longstanding frustration about the system has erupted into full-blown fury. The personal finance guru Martin Lewis told Reeves recently: “I do not think this is a moral thing for you to do.”After the threshold freeze, the latest annual report on education spending in England from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) forecast that for the 2022-23 intake, for example, “the long-run cost of issuing loans … will be negative, with graduates repaying more than they borrowed”
US, UK, EU, Australia and more to meet to discuss critical minerals alliance
Ministers from the US, EU, UK, Japan, Australia and New Zealand will meet in Washington this week to discuss a strategic alliance over critical minerals.The summit is being seen as a step to repair transatlantic ties fractured by a year of conflict with Donald Trump and pave the way for other alliances to help countries de-risk from China, including one centred on steel.Australia said on Friday it would establish a A$1.2bn (£610m) strategic reserve of minerals it believes are vulnerable to supply disruption from China, which last April restricted exports on rare earths in response to Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs.It is the second summit on the matter within a month and involves about 20 countries including the G7 members – the UK, US, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada – along with India and South Korea and Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and possibly Argentina
Can French Connection make FCUK fashionable again?
French Connection is back on the trail of global expansion with the aid of its cheeky initials-based slogan that made it so popular in the late 1990s.The label once known for clothes bearing FCUK is seeking to reinvent itself again under the ownership of a group of British entrepreneurs based in the north of England who rescued it in 2021.This week, the former high street darling signed a licensing agreement to develop and distribute men’s and women’s apparel and accessories across North America, which is understood to include plans to revive the FCUK branding.It is the latest chapter in a rollercoaster story of success and setback. French Connection was founded in 1972 by Stephen Marks, who named it after the film starring Gene Hackman released the previous year
Impose sanctions on refineries that buy Russian crude oil to end war, says Bill Browder
Bill Browder’s fight against Vladimir Putin has seen him face threats, lawsuits, false accusations of murder and Interpol arrest warrants. A disinformation-laden film was even made about him.But 16 years after the death of his friend and lawyer Sergei Magnitsky at the hands of Putin’s regime, Browder is unrelenting in his fight for justice. It is an endeavour that, by his estimation, has cost Putin and his cronies billions of dollars already, via asset freezes and sanctions. Hence the considerable risk to his safety
Urban Outfitters, Dreams and Royal Parks cafes criticised for use of gig economy app
The fashion retailer Urban Outfitters, the bed specialist Dreams and the operator of several Royal Parks cafes have been criticised for the use of the gig economy app Temper to take on staff – some of whom can end up earning below minimum wage.The TUC is urging the government to bring forward promised reforms to protect gig economy workers amid concerns that those hired by apps such as Temper are missing out on significant employment rights including sick pay, rest breaks, holiday pay and a minimum hourly rate.It suggested that such apps are leading to bogus self-employed roles. “We find it hard to see how roles like shop assistant can be self-employed,” the trade union body said.A year ago a number of large high street chains including Lush and Uniqlo stopped using apps such as Temper and the now defunct YoungOnes to take on freelancers, after outrage over the spread of gig economy working into the retail sector
‘Small mercies’: north London cafe evictions paused after legal challenge
A couple who run three cafes at north London beauty spots including Hampstead Heath and Queen’s Park have claimed a small victory in their battle to overturn the decision by their landlord, the City of London Corporation, to evict them.Patrick Matthews and Emma Fernandez have run the cafes at Parliament Hill Lido, Queen’s Park and Highgate Wood for several years, but were told just before Christmas they had been unsuccessful in a retendering process.The corporation, the governing body that runs London’s Square Mile, has responsibility for managing green spaces such as Hampstead Heath, which it runs as a registered charity.It awarded the lease for two of the couple’s sites as well as two other cafes to Australian-inspired chain Daisy Green, while the lease for the couple’s third site was handed to another operator. Matthews, Fernandez and the other tenants were told to vacate their premises by Monday 2 February
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Price of consumer goods could surge as shipping costs soar, industry body says
US authorities reportedly investigate claims that Meta can read encrypted WhatsApp messages
We have lost so much of ourselves to smartphones: can we get it back?
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Harry Brook blocks out the noise to lead England to T20 series win in Sri Lanka