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According to Ofcom, one in five teens spend over seven hours a day on their mobile phone, and, on average, people in the UK check their phones every 12 minutes. (Here’s a challenge: will you get to the end of this blog post without giving your mobile a sneaky peek?)

These are shocking statistics. And the news that Brighton5 is working to turn the negative side of teen smartphone addiction on its head – and encourage kids to explore why they’re so dependent on their devices – means that we’ve spent quite a bit of time this month giving interviews about teens and their smartphone addiction.

We’re no experts, but we are parents. We’ve watched our teens spend hours glued to their phones, worrying that they’re disrupting their sleep patterns (could we, should we confiscate their devices at night?); wondering what they’re watching and who they’re communicating with on Snapchat or WhatsApp or whatever-other-app-I-haven’t-even-heard-of-yet! Parents who grew up in an era without the constant, needy buzz going off in their pockets can find it hard to understand their teen and what their device means to them. Brighton5’s Daisy Cresswell talked to her daughter about the time she confiscated her device and her daughter described feeling “naked and stripped” as well as being “really bored”.

Brighton5 wants to give teens the opportunity to use their phones and technology for good. We’re going to get them to create amazing content that they can share with their friends and peers to help them better understand the possible downsides of their dependence on their phones, and to make positive change.

Brighton5 teens filming
Brighton5 teens filming

Interested? If you want to get involved, get in touch and subscribe to this blog. We’ll be updating it with our progress over the next few months. Have a great weekend!

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Brighton5 with BBC South East
John Young from BBC South East with Brighton5 teens Beren, Lola, Chloe and Grace, plus Jane Keating, Daisy Cresswell, Fiona Paterson, Keith Beckley from Sussex Police, Tayler Cresswell and BBC South East cameraman

We hosted the lovely folk from BBC South East today for an interview. Given a fair wind it should be on TV tonight (Tuesday) at 6.30pm, so look out for us!

The focus was on device addiction and our teens spoke eloquently about the impact their phones have on their lives and how Brighton5 is working to make a positive change – helping teens to understand the positives and negatives of their devices.

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We’re on the telly! Yesterday morning we were interviewed by Malcolm Shaw from ITV Meridian News for a piece about Brighton5. Our teens, Lola and Chloe joined us and we were super impressed with how they performed in front of the camera. And thanks to Biba for stepping in last minute as our camera person!

Tell us what you think in the comments below and, more importantly, please share the link with your friends and on social media – let’s spread the word and get more people involved in Brighton5!

Brighton5 interviewed on ITV Meridian News

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Brighton5 film shootWe’re making a concerted effort over the next few weeks and months to raise our profile and drum up interest in Brighton5. Read all about it!

We’re getting ready for our first project, to create and produce video content for local schools and colleges. Our teens will learn skills in production, animation and music. They will work in teams, building relationships, and with expert mentors to gain a positive understanding of issues that affect their mental health, such as device addiction and negative body image.

We want to help teens to help themselves. With the help of local teens, parents and schools, colleges, Sussex Police as well as Brighton businesses, we hope to create positive and long term change.

Want to get involved? Subscribe to our blog, follow us on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), or contact us and tell us your story.