Understanding Adolescent Food, Family, and Screen Time Dynamics: A Croydon-Based Perspective

Introduction

Concerns about adolescent wellbeing increasingly highlight three intersecting issues: the rise of digital screen use, declining family mealtimes, and insufficient nutrition education. In Croydon and South London, these challenges are particularly visible in young people’s daily routines and family life. To explore this, FLAVA conducted a survey of over 100 adolescents to examine how they perceive food, family connection, and education.

Methodology

The survey targeted adolescents aged 11–18 across schools and community groups in Croydon and South London. Questions focused on daily screen habits, time with parents, and sources of food knowledge. The findings provide a localised snapshot but also resonate with wider research on Generation Z’s cultural relationship with technology, family interaction, and nutrition.

Findings

Extended Screen Time
- 77% of respondents reported using their phones for more than three hours daily.
- This is consistent with national data, which shows that children’s weekly time online increased dramatically from 9 hours in 2009 to 15 hours in 2018 (Ofcom, 2019).
- Between 2020 and 2022, children and young people’s screen use rose by over 50%, with one in four displaying behaviours similar to screen addiction (UK Parliament, 2023).
Desire for Family Interaction
- 82% of participants said they wished they could spend more time with their parents.
- This contrasts with stereotypes of adolescents seeking independence, highlighting instead a strong desire for parental presence and connection.
Nutrition Education Gaps
- 60% reported receiving no nutrition education at school during the year surveyed.
- This aligns with concerns about curriculum gaps at a time of rising obesity and diet-related illness among adolescents.
Influence of Social Media on Food Knowledge
- 46% stated they obtain most of their food knowledge from social media.
- While online platforms can inspire, research shows they also spread misinformation and fuel unhealthy diet culture (Sehmer, 2025).
Preference for Hands-On Learning
- 72% said food education would be more engaging if it were hands-on and practical.
- 68% reported they would be excited to cook with their parents.
- These findings reflect wider evidence that experiential learning is more effective than didactic nutrition instruction (Braithwaite et al., 2019).

Discussion

The survey reveals a clear dissonance: adolescents are tethered to their phones but still crave deeper family connection and meaningful education. Research on Generation Z supports this paradox, with young people themselves describing social media as both “addictive” and something they use largely to “pass time” (Harris Poll, 2024). UK psychiatrists have recently warned that young people now spend an average of 29 hours a week on their phones, with clear links to anxiety, attention difficulties, and disrupted sleep (Sehmer, 2025).

Educational contexts are beginning to respond: for example, the Ormiston academy chain has enforced a phone-free policy for 35,000 pupils, reflecting a growing movement towards limiting phone use in schools (Adams, 2024). This shift highlights how systemic interventions are being trialled in recognition of the health and social costs associated with digital saturation.

Beyond mental health, excessive screen time has been statistically linked to higher risks of depression, anxiety, poor sleep quality, and dietary imbalances (Wang et al., 2025; Braithwaite et al., 2019). For Croydon adolescents, this reliance on screens compounds the absence of formal nutrition education, leaving many to construct their food habits from fragmented or misleading online sources.

Implications for Practice

These findings carry several implications for community and school-based interventions:

Shifting screen habits: Cooking sessions provide a structured alternative to screen use, embedding family time into routine.
Rebuilding connection: Shared food preparation fosters conversation and teamwork, addressing young people’s expressed need for parental presence.
Correcting information gaps: By combining nutrition knowledge with hands-on cooking, initiatives like FLAVA counter misinformation with practical, credible learning.

Conclusion

The Croydon-based survey highlights the urgency of addressing the combined challenges of screen overuse, weak nutrition education, and family disconnection. Adolescents are not disengaged; they are underserved. By creating spaces where families can cook, eat, and talk together, FLAVA provides an intervention that is both responsive to young people’s voices and supported by current literature.

References

Adams, R. (2024) ‘Academy chain with 35,000 pupils to be first in England to go phone-free’, The Guardian, 13 September.
Braithwaite, I., Stewart, A.W., Hancox, R.J. et al. (2019) ‘Screen time is associated with adiposity and dietary habits in youth: results from the international Children’s Health and Environment Study’, BMJ Open, 9(1), p. e023191. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023191.
Harris Poll (2024) Gen Z and Smartphones: Addicted or Attached?
Ofcom (2019) Children and parents: Media use and attitudes report 2018.
Sehmer, E. (2025) ‘Smartphones are harming our children’s mental health – and we’re ignoring the evidence’, The Guardian, 3 January.
UK Parliament (2023) Children, Young People and the Online Environment: Summary of findings. House of Commons Education Committee.
Wang, X., Li, H., Chen, J. and Zhou, Y. (2025) ‘Screen time and mental health among children and adolescents in the US: mediating roles of physical activity and sleep’, arXiv preprint.
Would you like me to also add Croydon-specific health or youth wellbeing studies (like local council reports or NHS South London data) to make it even more place-based and powerful for funders in your area?