Data from social-media companies would help research into mental-health risks, the report says!
Leading UK psychiatrists say they will never understand the risks and benefits of social media use on children’s mental health unless companies hand over their data to researchers.
There is growing evidence internet use can harm mental health but research is still lacking, it adds. Tech companies must be made to share data and pay a tax to fund important research, they say in a report.
An independent regulator for online safety is planned by the government.
The report, by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, calls on the regulator to require social-media companies to share data on how children and young people are using the likes of Instagram, Facebook and Twitter – not just how much time they spend online.
The data collected would be anonymous, the report says.
Ian Russell, who believes Instagram was partly responsible for his daughter Molly taking her life aged 14 is backing the calls.
“Two years ago, Molly’s suicide smashed like a wrecking ball into my family’s life,” he said.
“Without research using data from social-media companies, we will never know how content can lead our children and young people to self-harm or, in the most tragic cases, take their own lives.”
Part of the problem is that parents don’t understand the different social media platforms, how they work and how to control and monitor them. Or, indeed, modify the settings to provide the best possible experience for their children.
Maybe, a programme to highlight parental ignorance should be part of the plan rather than continually trying to ‘shoot the messenger’ without reading the message!
