The NSW Government is continuing its work to address the harms posed to young people by excessive screen time, with research grants awarded to academics investigating how this unprecedented exposure to technology and social media affects children’s development and learning.

Committed to prior to the election, nine recipients have secured grants through the $2.5 million Screen Use and Addiction Research Fund. Their work will produce a new body of knowledge which will be used to inform stronger Government policies to better protect children from adverse impacts.

The Fund has enabled new research, including for mental health data and NAPLAN results to be analysed alongside screen use data from the Black Dog Institute’s study of 5,500 NSW adolescents. The Fund will also contribute to an ongoing longitudinal study looking at the effects of recreational screen use on high school students.

This research will help develop a New South Wales first database of knowledge on how screen use can affect young people and students.

This is part of the State Government’s ongoing work to address harms posed to young people by screen use and social media, with work already undertaken including:

• Banning mobile phones in all NSW public schools
• Co-hosting a world-leading social media summit to discuss the harms of social media on young people.
• Introducing an updated syllabus that includes explicit lessons for students about online safety and responsibility.
• Recruiting 250 additional school counsellors in New South Wales public schools

Successful recipients received grants of up to $500,000 for new or novel research projects and up to $200,000 for research projects already underway. Grants were also awarded to three PhD candidates, with all recipients are required to deliver findings by 2026.

Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said, “Many parents are concerned about how smartphones and devices are affecting their children’s

mental health and development.

“We still don’t know enough about how this new technology impacts our children. That is why we committed to establishing this fund – to build up a body of reliable facts and research for families.

“This research can be used to inform evidence-based policies that benefit students for years to come.”