How social media Is harming young minds and the Gen Z movement fighting back

A generation growing up online is paying the price for endless scrolling – and now they’re fighting back. New research and expert warnings reveal that social media is taking a serious toll on young people’s mental and physical wellbeing, with campaigners calling it a “public health emergency in slow motion.”

The release of Stolen Minds a powerful short film and digital protest from Gen Z collective Art of Mylo, coincides with escalating global concern about the psychological effects of screen addiction and harmful algorithms.

According to Ofcom, nine in ten children own a mobile phone by the age of 11, and a quarter of children aged just 5–7 already have their own smartphone. UK child internet users aged 8–14 now spend an average of 2 hours and 59 minutes a day online, with social media described by the Royal Society for Public Health as “more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol.”

Aston spoke to Myles Ruddy, founder of Art of Mylo.