30/09/2026
Schools, parents and guardians must take urgent action to educate our young people about the impact of screens on mental health - Screen addiction is a growing crisis!
We teach children about the risks of smoking, drugs and gambling. Are we doing enough to help them understand potentially addictive screen habits?
At a recent seminar I attended, Dr Trish Leigh—who reports analysing thousands of brain scans—said: “The impact of screens on teenagers is terrifying.” Researchers including Professor Eva Telzer and Dr Lauren Sherman are also investigating how social media engages the developing brain.
Research is showing the impact of screentime on re-wiring our dopamine reward pathways.
🧠 Dopamine helps drive motivation, reward learning and the urge to repeat behaviours.
Studies show that online likes activate reward-related brain regions, and habitual social media checking is associated with changes in adolescents’ sensitivity to social rewards over time.
Scrolling, notifications and gaming can offer rapid, repeated rewards and trigger huge dopamine spikes which ultimately means over time slower activities like reading, playing outside or spending time with family can feel less immediately compelling by comparison.
For some young people, screen habits become difficult to control, their brains are wired and start crowding out sleep, movement and meaningful connection. As the dependency on screens for dopamine (pleasure/reward) deepens we find our teens struggling with mental health as "real world" just isn't stimulating enough - they need their fix!
Its important to note that some screens have an important place in our lives. Schools use them for learning, and they help us connect with friends and family who live far away.
However, we need thoughtful, age-appropriate boundaries that consider what children are doing online and what it is replacing.
Rather than simply telling teenagers to use screens less, change is most effective when they understand how screens can affect dopamine pathways and mental health. That understanding gives them agency: not just rules, but reasons.
Education matters. Children deserve to understand dopamine and reward pathways, recognise habits that pull them back to their devices, and discover enjoyment, motivation and achievement in the "real world".
🎤 Schools: can book “The Great Dopamine Hijack”- an engaging talk combining science, lived experience and practical strategies to explore dopamine, screens, habits and addiction. It explains how movement, sleep, nutrition, time outdoors, relationships and purposeful activities can support motivation, focus and wellbeing - all essential for academic achievement and life in general!
£295 for a one-hour talk, ideal for school assemblies or a separate parent session—helping families support and reinforce the work schools do.
📩 Message me to discuss a booking or visit www.adhdandy.com for more info.
