By Phillipah Anamaoh-
The Secretary of State for health and Social Care Matt Hancock has confirmed today that the Chief Medical Officer would be reviewing the impact of social media on children’s mental health. This will be followed up by a guideline to help parents control their children’s access to social media sites and apps.
Hancock issued an urgent warning on the potential dangers of social media to children, saying it’s as dangerous as sugar is to a person’s physical health. Many children use social media to berate others online, damaging their self esteem in the process. Social media can be a very useful platform for communicating and socializing, but it can have the opposite effect for those who feel or are made to feel inferior by inconsiderate people.
It is important that children are not introduced to social media early because of the distractions and potential harm it can cause some of them. Although some children may feel good about themselves and post happy messages on social media, their confidence could be the source of other people’s misery or lack of confidence. Social media also has the downside of causing some young people to define themselves on the basis of the attention they get on social media.
This is a weak and dangerous way for children and young people to develop. Children should define themselves on the content of their mind and character, which is one reason it is probably advisable that children are kept far away from social media before their teens. Teenagers themselves are often still developing and discovering themselves. They wouldn’t want to be excluded from a forum their peers are enjoying, but if children are grounded properly in their education right from their primary years, there could at least be an argument for suggesting a higher level of maturity by the time they are teenagers.
The guidance issued today is aimed at ensuring that children use social media in a safe and secure manner;including the age at which children should be allowed to sign up to a social media account and how often they can access the sites.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care said:
“Overwhelmingly technology is a force for good, but we are seeing more and more evidence that children using social media sites for hours on end each day is having a detrimental impact on their mental health.”
Professor Dame Sally (CMO) will also review the issues of cyber bullying, sleep problems online social gaming and “internet addiction”. Her findings will be published this December.
Dame Sally stated earlier today,
“Evidence shows that children who spend more than 3 hours using social networking websites on a school day are twice as likely to report high or very high scores for mental ill-health.”
Children and young people’s mental health is a top priority for the government and within the NHS. The cabinet are halfway through a major process of improving access to specialist NHS services, by granting £1.4 billion pounds worth of funding.
While the Health and Social Care Secretary welcomes the progress some social media companies have made, there is much more to do. In 2019, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will work with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to launch an online awareness campaign, which will bring to light all existing information and resources for parents seeking to limit their children’s screen time.
Hancock is also continuing to engage with his ministerial colleagues at DCMS and the Home Office around their upcoming Online Harms white paper, as he aims to empower parents to keep their children safe in this digital age.
In an era of speeding technology and oceans of online content it is extremely important and right that the government is seeking to investigate the potential dangers of social media. Dame Sally stated “mental health is just as important as physical health and should be treated as such.” Last month the Independent revealed a study which showed that teenage suicides in England and Wales have risen by 67% since 2010 and these studies have linked social media to increasing depression and anxiety to young teenagers. Hopefully this thorough evidence review will draw up a clear, helpful and accessible guide on how parents can tackle the increasing impact of social media.