Five Ways to Stop Your Kids' Endless Scrolling

According to the BBC, a recent US court ruling found that Meta and Google deliberately designed social media platforms to be addictive, causing mental harm to a young woman identified only as Kaley. Her lawyers pointed to features like Instagram's infinite scroll as tools engineered to hook users. While the verdict has been widely described as a turning point for the social media industry, it offers little day-to-day comfort to parents wrestling with their children's screen habits.

Parenting experts say the situation is manageable — but it requires patience, honesty, and a willingness to change household norms.

Start small, not cold turkey

Child psychologist Dr. Jane Gilmour cautions against the temptation to simply confiscate devices altogether. Changing any deeply embedded habit is difficult, she explains, and parents will get further by introducing new rules gradually and at a calm moment — not during an argument. She suggests designating a single spot in the home, such as a cupboard or charging station, where all devices are stored at the end of the day. A consistent, low-drama routine, she argues, is far more effective than confrontation.

Bring children into the conversation

Fellow child psychologist Dr. Maryhan Baker says that with older children and teenagers, imposing screen rules from above often backfires. Instead, she recommends acknowledging the very real social pressures that come with being a teenager online. If young people feel heard and understood, they are far more likely to cooperate. Parenting coach Olivia Edwards echoes this, noting that a strong parent-child relationship is the foundation for any meaningful change in behaviour — and that includes taking a genuine interest in what children are actually watching and sharing online.

Use screens as a teaching tool

Rather than treating social media purely as a threat, experts suggest turning it into a teachable moment. Olivia encourages parents to ask their children open questions about how platforms work — why the apps are designed to keep people scrolling, and how companies profit from that attention. Dr. Gilmour adds that parents can build digital literacy alongside their children by examining online content together and asking whether it can be trusted and how that could be verified.

Look in the mirror first

Children observe their parents closely, and screen habits are no exception. Dr. Baker encourages parents to approach the subject with some self-awareness and even humour — acknowledging openly that adults are not immune to phone addiction either. Dr. Gilmour also makes a case for embracing boredom, arguing that when children stare into space with nothing to do, something valuable is actually happening. That kind of idle, internal thinking is where creativity and imagination take root, she says — something constant screen use quietly displaces.

Put the panic into perspective

Perhaps most importantly, experts urge parents not to catastrophise. Dr. Tony Sampson, a digital communications researcher at the University of Essex, warns that anxious parents can fall into a cycle of moral panic driven by media coverage that overstates the danger. He points out that children and teenagers possess a high degree of neuroplasticity — meaning their brains are far more adaptable and resilient than those of adults. Social media, he argues, does not destroy young people's ability to concentrate. What it does is redirect that attention toward commercial content. Used thoughtfully, technology can actually support creativity, curiosity, and learning rather than undermine it.