The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has responded to a government consultation on social media use for under-16s, and it has suggested doctors should make sure to routinely ask younger patients about their online habits.

Academy Chair Jeanette Dickson has compared the situation to changing smoking or seatbelt advice over the years, despite no consensus on the issue from the wider scientific community regarding the impact of screen time overall.

She warned: "We need to call this out unflinchingly rather than passively wait for someone else to prove causation."

The Academy acknowledged that there is little causal evidence around device usage and health harms, but its members reached an "overwhelming consensus" that there is a link.

This could include physical and mental health issues caused by watching extreme violence.

In its submission, the Academy insisted that "successive governments have made an art form of inaction" on the risk of screen time/

They added: "The difference now is that the harm being done to children online is not hypothetical... it is immediate, it is documented and it is happening at scale."

The UK government will end its consultation on Tuesday night (26.05.26), with one option under consideration is adopting Australia's social media ban for children.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has promised a response to the consultation will be publisher over the summer, and new measures will be brought in by the end of the year.

She told the BBC: "The question isn't whether we're going to act - we will."