NXT Move Plus 8 Ltd

A three-year study of 25,000 young people (ages 11–14) from the University of Manchester, just published in the Journal of Public Health, challenges one of the biggest assumptions parents carry: that screen time itself drives anxiety and depression.

It doesn't.

But here's what the research actually shows: It's not how much time. It's what content, when, and with whom.

The same device that leaves one teenager doomscrolling in bed at midnight might connect another to a community fighting climate change, learning a new language, or finding people who finally understand them. Same tool. Radically different outcomes.

The protective factor isn't abstinence. It's intentionality.

What actually matters:
+ Ongoing family conversation (not lectures)
+ Understanding why they're online
+ Knowing what they're consuming
+ Adults who listen without immediately punishing
+ Clear, consistent boundaries built together—not imposed

This is why, in addition to our book "When Screens Go Quiet", we have released a free 7-day Family Rest (head to wsgq.live to download your copy for free). The Australia u/16 social media ban is helping us table this important conversation.

What are we actually trying to protect here?
Not less time.
More presence.
More connection.
More belonging.

The Manchester study suggests the conversation itself is the antidote.

Reference: University of Manchester, Journal of Public Health, 2026

Australia banned under-16s from social media nine months ago. Most teens are still online.

That's the finding from multiple studies now out, and the one that's stayed with me this week. Not because the ban was wrong to try, but because of what it's revealing: removing apps doesn't build belonging. A legal restriction without a relational alternative doesn't fill the space. And young people themselves are saying it.

Here's the thing that matters alongside that finding: the biggest family travel trend of 2026 isn't a destination. It's a digital detox weekend. Families are booking off-grid holidays, phone-free cabins, and screen-free retreats...not because someone told them to, but because they're hungry for it. Parents want conversations that matter. Kids want to be known. We were made for this.

So the better question isn't just "how do we get them off screens?" It's: what do we build when screens go quiet? What fills that space? What kind of connection is worth unplugging for?

We believe the answer isn't restriction, it's reconstruction. Building the conditions for real conversation, belonging, and hope. That's what NXT Move Plus 8 works toward every day, and that's what young people are quietly telling us they need.

What does your family do when the screens go quiet? We'd love to hear.

www.wsgq.live

The World Happiness Report 2026 just released a chapter on social media and adolescent wellbeing. The findings are sobering, but also clarifying.

Young people are telling us: this is costing them connection, identity, and rest. And they wish it hadn't.

When Screens Go Quiet isn't about rejecting technology. It's about reclaiming what matters: real conversation, knowing who you are beyond the algorithm, and belonging to communities that see you as you actually are.

For parents navigating screens, anxiety, and the hunger for real connection, this resource is for you.

wsgq.live

Reading the UN's 2026 Youth2030 Progress Report, a phrase caused me to pause:

"Presence is not power, and consultation is not co-ownership."

We've made real progress. More young people are at more tables than ever before. Institutions are creating youth advisory roles, convening consultations, building youth-led summits. But the data is honest: gaining access to a room is not the same as being trusted to shape what happens in it.

Young people I have worked with in conflict zones and capital cities, in rural and coastal communities, carry the same deep longings:
1. To contribute
2. To belong
3. To build something meaningful.

The aspiration is remarkably consistent across contexts. What differs is whether the systems around them amplify or suppress it.

A recent UK Youth Thriving Minds Fund report reinforces what community practitioners know: relational youth work, done consistently and well, is preventative health infrastructure. It reduces crisis demand. It builds belonging. It produces resilient communities. Evidence from 99 grantee organisations confirms that early, relational, and flexible support (rooted in trusted relationships) reaches young people that statutory services cannot.

At NXT Move Plus 8, this is the animating question behind everything we do: what does it look like to build genuine pathways (not just programs) where young people move from the margins to meaningful participation? Not just invited to the table, but trusted to help set it.

As we head into the final quarter of 2026, what does co-ownership of young people's futures look like in your sector? We'd love to hear from practitioners, educators, and policymakers in this space.

For those following along on the journey, get the latest newsletter here: https://bit.ly/NXT_newsletter6