A Centre for Social Justice study found that many teenage girls in England are spending less time on sport, outdoor hobbies and socialising, with phone use contributing to increasingly isolated lifestyles. Researchers warned that this may harm girls’ physical and mental health, while stressing that providing appealing alternatives is likely to be more effective than simply restricting social media.

Two in five 15-year-old girls said they hardly ever leave their bedrooms except for school, and one in five reported spending no evenings out with friends in a typical week. More than 250,000 15-year-olds of both sexes now spend most of their time in their rooms, a 50 per cent rise since 2002; half of girls also avoid school sport because they fear not being good enough, while seven in ten said a wider range of activities would encourage them to be more active.