Kids & Family

Government reportedly considering introducing two-hour screen time limit for children

The proposed limit is to help prevent 'compulsive' scrolling.

Emily Sergeant - 23rd July 2025

Reports are suggesting that the UK Government is considering introducing two-hour screen time limits for children.

With an announcement on the matter expected later this autumn, Sky News is reporting that social media limits for children are being planned by the Government in a bid to tackle what is being referred to as ‘compulsive’ screen time usage – with Technology Secretary Peter Kyle admitting he is concerned about ‘the overall amount of time kids spend on apps’ these days, as well as the content they see.

Following meetings with current and former employees of some of the country’s major tech companies, a two-hour cap per social media platform is being ‘seriously considered’.

It is understood that, according to reports, instead of simply just being reminded of how long they have been scrolling for, children would actually be blocked from accessing apps, such as TikTok or Snapchat, once they have hit the limit.

“I’ll be making an announcement on these things in the near future,” Mr Kyle told Sky News in an interview this week, “but I am looking very carefully about the overall time kids spend on these apps.”

He continued: “I think some parents feel a bit disempowered about how to actually make their kids healthier online.

“I think some kids feel that sometimes there is so much compulsive behaviour with interaction with the apps, they need some help just to take control of their online lives, and those are things I’m looking at really carefully.

“We talk a lot about a healthy childhood offline. We need to do the same online. I think sleep is very important, to be able to focus on studying is very important.”

Mr Kyle admitted that, while children spending hours viewing content on social media isn’t ‘criminal’, but the overuse of some of these apps in particular is ‘unhealthy’.

“I think we can incentivise the companies,” he continued.

“We can set a slightly different threshold that will just tip the balance in favour of parents, [so that they’re] not always being the ones having to rip phones out of the kids’ hands and having a really awkward and difficult conversation around it.”

Read more:

• Government set to announce ban on mobile phones at all schools in England
• More than 80% of Brits think the Government is badly handling the cost of living crisis
• GCSE sign language to be offered as an option at all secondary schools in England

The upcoming proposed screen time limit comes after 1,000 pupils – mostly aged 14 and 15 – at schools in the North East town of Darlington spent a year participating in regular focus groups about smartphones and social media.

The survey found that 40% of them spent at least six hours a day online, and one in five even spent as long as eight hours scrolling.

Featured Image – Robin Worrall (via Unsplash)