Parental responsibility key to overcoming dangers of children’s online activity, say mental health experts
Date: 20th August 2024
Mental health experts are calling on parents to take a greater role and responsibility in the control and monitoring of children’s use of social media and online activity in the absence of effective regulation.
In the latest episode of Priory’s Perspectives panel show series, which will be broadcast on the Priory YouTube channel on Thursday (22 August) at 4pm, they will discuss growing concerns about the long-term impacts of exposure to inappropriate material.
This includes highlighting how many children who seek treatment in adulthood reflect on frustrations their parents did not protect them from harm.
Hosted by Colin Quick, chief quality officer, the programme will hear from therapy director Debbie Longsdale, consultant psychiatrist Dr Victoria Chamorro and Jake Mills, chief executive of mental health charity Chasing the Stigma, which runs free online service directory the Hub of Hope.
The panel will cover all aspects of children and young people’s mental health, including the record number of young people affected, global challenges and impacts including post-pandemic issues and climate change, symptoms, social media and how to begin conversations about mental health.
The NHS estimates that one in five children and young people aged eight to 25 in England have a probable mental health condition and, earlier this year, the Children’s Commissioner highlighted 270,000 children were waiting support – with 40,000 experiencing a wait of over two years.
Social media use, smartphones and online activity, as outlined in the Children’s Commissioner’s review, remain a focal point – heightened by an Ofcom report released in April which showed a quarter of five-to-seven-year-olds now have their own smartphones.
Ofcom has also reported 99% of children spend time online, three-quarters of social media users aged between eight and 17 have their own account or profile on a major platform and six in 10 children aged eight to 12 are signed up with their own profile despite minimum age limits of 13.
“Social media is a constant for so many people and we know it is often used for bullying, for harmful material, for seeing things that most people when they were children would never ever see - and it is so freely accessible,” explained Jake.
“We often hear from parents who say they have got no idea what their children often have access to, what messages they are receiving and they really struggle to build trust to try to really understand what it is that they're seeing and hearing and being victim to.
“Managing that is a huge, huge challenge and, unfortunately, we are in a situation where there is not really that much being done, so we need to better train and educate young people on that online safety.”
Ms Longsdale said it was important for parents to be aware that young adults who go on to receive treatment will often reflect on their experiences and question why adults had not offered them the protection they felt they required at a vulnerable age.
“Young people who have moved into adulthood and reflect on the things that they were exposed to will often ask where was the adult, where was the adult to protect me from what I didn't understand I was being exposed to,” she explained.
“As adults we have got to take some kind of responsibility in terms of making decisions around what should an age group be exposed to and, for example, can I use that control for switching off Wi-Fi and restricting online access.
“I don't know that it is right to allow the child to always decide because I just don't think they know what to do with the information because they're just not developed or don't even know how to express it.”
Dr Chamorro, who is based at Priory Hospital Roehampton, added that isolation from personal interaction due to increased online activity was also preventing the “discharge of negativity” that is vital for mental wellbeing.
“When I see adults, they talk a lot about the traumas of childhood and one of the big things is not feeling able to come forward to their parents.
“The concern is that we are seeing young people make disclosures online as they believe it to be a safe forum but it is not as it is a public forum – a parasocial (one-sided connection) world rather than addressing things in the here and now with people who can help.
“These disclosures and comments are then there forever in an adult space and we are not currently protecting children from that exposure. At the same time, where online is the priority there is not the catharsis and discharge of negativity a personal interaction can bring which is incredibly important.
Hear more from all three experts on a variety of issues affecting children and young people’s mental health on Priory’s Perspectives this Thursday at 4pm.
ENDS
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About Priory and MEDIAN Group
Priory is the UK’s largest independent provider of mental health and adult social care services. Priory treats more than 70 conditions, including depression, anxiety, addictions and eating disorders, as well as children’s mental health, across its nationwide network of sites. Priory also supports autistic adults and adults with a learning disability, Prader-Willi Syndrome and brain injuries, as well as older people, within specialist residential care and supported living facilities – helping as many people as possible to live their lives.
Priory is part of the MEDIAN Group, the leading European provider of high-quality mental health and rehabilitation services. The MEDIAN Group comprises: Priory in the UK with 290 facilities and 5,000 beds caring for 28,000 people, MEDIAN in Germany with 120 facilities and 20,000 beds caring for around 250,000 patients, and Hestia in Spain with 15 facilities and 2,100 beds caring for 11,000 people in Spain, with more than 29,000 employees across the group.