Building Brains
Powering Young minds, not devices.
A place for parents seeking:
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Research on tech and child development & wellbeing.
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Judgement-free & supportive community.
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Practical guidance on low-tech options.
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Local family connections (Melbourne's West)
Join our community of like-minded
parents, teachers & professionals.
Our Story
Our mission is to bring together parents who are interesting in providing a lower-tech childhood for thier children.
We provide evidence-based information, focused on Australian research data where available, to empower parents in making informed decisions about technology use for their children and teens.
We are not anti-tech. Technology is a useful tool when used intentionally and with a clear purpose. Each family's tech use will look different and that's ok!
We focus on the use of technology and devices in all environments including the home and classroom.
The task is big, but too important to ignore.
Orginating in Melbourne's western suburbs, we support this community and beyond!
Founded by Dr Grace Hancock.
Recent Australian Research
What science, research, and Australian's themselves are telling us about the digital lives of our children and teens.
Prevalence of screen use
Internet gaming disorder (IGD) & smartphone overuse in Australian primary secondary school children: prevalence and developmental impacts
2025
Sample: 1,993 Australian children aged 10-14 yrs old.
Key Findings:
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Primary school aged children spend an average of 6.34 hours on screens each day.
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For secondary school aged teens, this increases to an average of 9.03 hours per day.
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Children with sub-clinical or clinical levels of smartphone overuse reported significantly higher total developmental impacts compared to children with normal phone use.
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This was true to intrenet gaming overuse also, particularly in social and emotional development and behavioural impacts.
Nighttime phone use & cyberbullying.
Nighttime Phone Use and Past Exposure to Cyberbullying and Their Impact on Sleep and Psychological Wellbeing
2024
Sample: 53,734 students from all states, aged 7-19 years old.
Key Findings:
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Nighttime phone use predicts both psychological distress and reduced sleep (<8hrs).
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Being cyberbullied also predicts these two outcomes.
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Of children who experience cyberbullying, those who access their phone at night may experience greater impact on their sleep and psychological wellbeing.
Parent concern
RCH National Child Health Poll
2021
Sample: 1,980 Australian parents of children aged 0-18 years.
Key Findings:
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The number one health concern for parents is excessive screen time with more than 90% of parents reporting it was a big problem or somewhat of a problem in the community.
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Cyberbullying and bullying (53%) was the second top health concern parents have for all children.
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Internet safety (52%) was the third top concern that parents have.
Teacher experiences
Growing Up Digital Australia:
Phase 1
2020
Sample: 1,876 Australian teachers and principals.
Key Findings:
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84% of teachers see digital technologies being a growing distraction in the learning environment.
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78% of teachers say students’ ability to focus on educational tasks has decreased.
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60% see positive impacts for students with disabilities.
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59% observed a decline in students’ overall readiness to learn in the last 3–5 years.
International & Global Research
By gathering findings from leading research institutes worldwide, we gain the most comprehensive understanding of the impacts of technology on youth.
Health Professionals For Safer Screens (HPFSS) provides access to the latest research from around the world.
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Categorised to help you find what you're looking for.
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Summarised for easy searching.
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Full-text available for all publications.
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Briefing documents which summarise the current body of research for easy disemination.
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Evidence-based resources for families & professionals.
Recent Updates
Reaching out to the community
Check out some of our recent efforts to share information and spread awareness about the impacts of smartphones and digital technology.