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📱 Rage Against the Screen: Protecting Our Kids from Big Tech's Grip 📱 Back in 2014, I visited a friend in Atherton, California, who was on Google’s board. At a party in her garden filled with Silicon Valley executives, I asked a simple question: What’s your approach to kids and smartphones? Their unanimous answer? They kept their children far away from them until adulthood—or close to it. Fast forward a decade, and the rest of us are catching up to what they already knew: our children are part of an unprecedented experiment with smartphones and social media. And the results aren’t looking good. At Mumsnet, we hear from parents every day who are grappling with the downsides of this technology. It’s not just the fear of bullying or disturbing content, but the addictive pull of screens that’s most alarming. Parents share stories of kids who can’t eat a meal without their phones or teens who become frantic at the prospect of screen restrictions. As one Mumsnet user put it: “Giving my teen access to social media felt like letting a child crack addict take crack in their room.” We’ve all experienced the dopamine hit of mindless scrolling—imagine the impact on a developing brain. Research has already linked social media use to anxiety, and the surge in children’s mental health issues over the past five years is hard to ignore. Yes, parents can try to set limits or delay access, but the billion-dollar might of Big Tech works against us at every turn. Their apps are designed to hook users, turning our children into lifelong addicts and cash cows. Standing alone as a parent feels powerless against these forces. That’s why we’re launching Rage Against the Screen—a campaign to give parents strength in numbers. We’re demanding: 1️⃣ Strict, enforced age limits for social media with meaningful penalties for non-compliance. 2️⃣ Public health advice on smartphone and app addiction. 3️⃣ Support for initiatives like Josh MacAlister’s Safer Phones Bill to raise the age of "internet adulthood." Nearly 70% of Mumsnet users back a ban on social media for under-16s, and countries like Australia are proving this is possible. Just as we now view the tobacco industry’s tactics with horror, I believe we’ll one day feel the same about Big Tech’s exploitation of children. It’s time to push back. Let’s demand better for our kids’ mental health. Join Mumsnet and begin the fight back https://lnkd.in/eEZfRimX #RageAgainstTheScreen #ProtectOurKids #Parenting #BigTech #MentalHealth