\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e7e01f73c98ee6bead4865a0e804eeeecb90997e\/1307_393_6709_5367\/master\/6709.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=9ebdb3be317f0d324e30cb87f5d39ef6\" "\\"\u2018It\u2019s")
The hit podcaster, author and former GP says a failure to regulate big tech is \u2018failing a generation of children\u2019. He explains why he quit the NHS and why he wants a ban on screen-based homework\nA 16-year-old boy and his mum went to see their GP, Dr Rangan Chatterjee, on a busy Monday afternoon. That weekend, the boy had been at A&E after an attempt at self-harm, and in his notes the hospital doctor had recommended the teenager be prescribed antidepressants. \u201cI thought: \u2018Wait a minute, I can\u2019t just start a 16-year-old on antidepressants,\u2019\u201d says Chatterjee. He wanted to understand what was going on in the boy\u2019s life.
\nThey talked for a while, and Chatterjee asked him about his screen use, which turned out to be high. \u201cI said: \u2018I think your screen use, particularly in the evenings, might be impacting your mental wellbeing.\u2019\u201d Chatterjee helped the boy and his mother set up a routine where digital devices and social media went off an hour before bed, gradually extending the screen-free period over six weeks. After two months, he says the boy stopped needing to see him. A few months after that, his mother wrote Chatterjee a note to say her son had been transformed \u2013 he was engaging with his friends and trying new activities. He was, she said, like a different boy from the one who had ended up in hospital. Continue reading…Technology | The Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The hit podcaster, author and former GP says a failure to regulate big tech is \u2018failing a generation of children\u2019. He explains why he quit the NHS and why he wants a ban on screen-based homework A 16-year-old boy and his mum went to see their GP, Dr Rangan Chatterjee, on a busy Monday afternoon. …<\/p>\n