The brain of neurotypical children under the age of five experiences a turbocharged growth spurt Which takes them from drooling infants to potty-trained kids who are ready to learn their ABCs in school.
That’s why it’s so worrying that we’re inadvertently subjecting a large group of these kids to massive amounts of Internet brain rot that is disrupting that critical period, according to one analytical report From researchers at the Center for Social Justice (CSJ), a British policy group that focuses on people in poverty – a situation that can result in potentially harmful consequences.
“I’ve got two kids (in my class) who physically can’t sit on the carpet,” said one teacher quoted in the report. “They don’t have core strength. And when I visited one girl in July, she had never been to nursery, she was made to sit on a corner sofa on an iPad, so she hasn’t developed her core strength and it’s really impacting her whole development.”
According to CSJ researchers, the effects of this largely uncontrolled experiment are already being felt, with children suffering from “anxiety and sleep disturbances” due to the onslaught of low-quality videos and other content on social media. Research elsewhere has found that children who use social media test bottom on memory and reading tests, and that screen time increased Causes depression and addictive behavior for all age groups.
As quoted by CSJ in its report, Lord Nash, a member of the British House of Lords and former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools, said, “This research is extremely worrying.” “There are now thousands of children under the age of five on these platforms, children who have not yet learned to read, being fed content and algorithms designed to appeal to adults, which should concern us all.”
CSJ based its work on May 2025 report From the UK Office of Communications (Ofcom), which surveyed British parents on their children’s attitudes towards and use of media. Ofcom research found that one in five children aged three to five have used social media independently; Worryingly, it was found that a quarter of eight to nine year olds who play online games have engaged with strangers in these interactive environments, making them a popular venue. child hunter,
The same Ofcom report found that 37 per cent of parents surveyed admitted that their three to five-year-old children had access to social media, a shocking increase from the already high figure of 29 per cent about three years earlier; CSJ took this figure, calculated population data on it, and estimated that it included 814,000 British children who are now having their brains fried with memes and video clips silly beyond imagination.
“We are concerned about the increasing anxiety and identity-based crisis associated with constant stimulation from screens, with schools reporting declines in attention and behavior associated with online norms,” the researchers wrote.
To get children back to a healthy state, the CSJ recommends that any age restrictions on social media should be raised to 16, schools should ban smartphones in classrooms, and there should be a national campaign to raise awareness about the public health dangers of social media and internet use.
More information on children’s mental health: Something serious is happening to kids who got cell phones early
