How Devices Are Harming Our Kids & What We Can Do About It | Dr Charlotte Armitage | TEDxManchester

NOTE FROM TED: This talk only represents the speaker's personal views and understanding of technology, health, and development. The relationship between screen time and public health warrants further scientific investigation. We've flagged this talk because it falls outside the content guidelines TED gives TEDx organizers. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/t...

Dr Charlotte Armitage discusses her research and work as one of the leaders of a growing global movement to warn parents and education leaders about the mounting evidence showing the dangers that modern digital devices bring to healthy child psychological development. Through her clinical work as a psychotherapist, work with schools and as a duty-of-care psychologist, Dr Armitage has witnessed the negative impact of screen time on her young clients and their families.

Her message seeks to go beyond mere scaremongering to empower parents and children with practical strategies to make positive changes to redefine how we think about and use digital technologies in our daily lives. Dr Charlotte Armitage is a psychologist and psychotherapist who specialises in the media, specifically looking at how smart device use impacts child development. She is the author of Generation Zombie: How devices are harming your children and what you can do about it and she also launched National Awareness Day: ’No Phones at Home Day’ in 2022 which encourages people to put the phone down for the third Saturday in January to focus on connecting with each other in real life.

In addition, Charlotte is the founder of the ‘Be Device Wise’ programme, a programme which she designed to be delivered to schools throughout the UK to educate teachers, parents and pupils about the impact that using devices is having on their health and wellbeing, to enable them to make healthier choices. This programme has been commissioned by public health in various regions of the UK and Charlotte is working in partnership with councils and local authorities to integrate education on the matter into the existing curriculum.

Charlotte is also a duty of care psychologist and works on high profile TV and podcast productions such as Big Brother, Celebs Go Dating, TOWIE, Tsunami, Black Widow among many others. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx