Social media is being used as a kind of ‘scapegoat’ for young people’s mental health problems, and it’s not social media that’s driving them to depression, anxiety and self-harm, Australia’s leading medical expert says. said one of the research institutes.
As Australia moves towards a ban to protect under-16s from the harmful effects of online interactions, new research by the Black Dog Institute shows the link between the platform and Headspace is relatively weak.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday announced minimum age restrictions for accessing social media, telling parents: “We’ve got your back.”
However, the institute’s research says that while social media is a “fertile ground for spreading harmful content”, evidence shows a parallel increase in its use, and that it is damaging to the psyche of young people. health problems do not imply a causal relationship.
The study found that the effects of social media on young people are not universal, and there is a lack of longitudinal studies and meta-analytic results to explain the disproportionate increase in self-harm among young women.
Additionally, restricting social access can also limit access to support and information for troubled young people.
“When you ask young people why they feel anxious or depressed, they don’t say, ‘It’s because of social media,’ they say, ‘It’s because I don’t have very good relationships with my friends, or because I lost my boyfriend.’ ‘I’m really concerned about the state of the world,’ lead researcher Helen Christensen told AAP.
“Social media is actually a bit of a scapegoat. The bigger problems young people are experiencing are broader, including access to good jobs, gender-based violence, poor economic outcomes, and fear of social change.” It’s a thing.
“It’s this kind of thing that they’re distracted by, and it’s not because of social media.”
Professor Christensen explains that eliminating access to that element is not a panacea for the wider social influences that are driving up rates of self-harm, but it may help concerned parents look for connections. I can understand that.
“From a scientific point of view, this seems convincing, but scientifically speaking, to show this, people with higher (usage of) social media, after 12 months “It means you should show higher anxiety and depression in your relationship,” she explains.
“That’s when (the discussion) starts to fall apart a little bit…You really can’t blame social media.”
It’s natural for parents to want to protect their children from harm such as drugs, alcohol, online bullying, and exposure to unwanted content.
However, Professor Christensen says it’s important to remember that 80% of young people don’t have a problem with social media, and for many it is a useful source of information and community.
“With groups of LGBTQI people, they use social media to connect with people like them, and in fact, social media helps them get in touch with themselves and feel the same way. “I would say it’s a comforting way to find people who are doing it,” she noted, adding that if a ban were to come to fruition, further research would need to be done to see if it would actually make a difference. He added that there is.
“Here is a two-sided coin.”
Restricting access may not be effective because children can “easily circumvent” bans and restrictions. The Australian government is trialling a number of advanced age verification methods to prevent this from happening.
But Department of Communications officials overseeing the exam told Senate estimates in Canberra last week that the exam risks driving young people to “darker websites”.
Professor Christensen urged social media companies to better filter what appears on their platforms to ensure a safer environment, “just as we want to create healthy schools.” I think forcing is much more effective.
Children’s organization Act for Kids agreed, saying the ban was an important step forward, but more needs to be done to hold social media companies accountable.
Chief executive Dr Katrina Lynes said: ‘We welcome this, but we need to put even more emphasis on social media giants and their own policies that protect all children, regardless of age, from online harm. ” he said.
“We also acknowledge that effective technology for verifying age guarantees and parental consent is not yet in place.”
