Kids and young adults are addicted to screens. New research argues it may be a public health concern

Study argues big tech companies need to share user data in order to understand severity of potential harms

Andrea Chrysanthou says it's been almost impossible to limit her 13-year-old son Nathaniel's screen time. "My son understands that he's addicted," said Chrysanthou, the Toronto-based board chair of the advocacy group Children First Canada. She says he's asked her for help to stop using his digital device so much, but the minute she turns her back, he's reaching for it again. Her son is like millions of other kids around the world whose physical and mental well-being are at risk because of excess screen time, according to a new series of research papers published Sunday by medical journal The Lancet. It's a broad review of international studies that allowed researchers to distill the potential harms and benefits of digital technology, and offers a sense of "what needs to happen to protect children's health," said co-author Jay Shaw, an assistant professor in the University of Toronto's Department of Physical Therapy. Despite the breadth of their analysis, Shaw and his colleagues say the true severity of the issue can't be fully understood or addressed without access to tech companies' own user data — something those companies are currently under no obligation to share