UK to bring in web guidelines for children

Plan revealed amid social media fears

THE UK government is to produce its first ever guideline on the maximum amount of time young people should spend on social media.

British health secretary Matt Hancock yesterday told of his plans, amid growing concern about the links between excessive online use and mental health problems in children.

Mr Hancock said, ‘I am, as a father, very worried about the growing evidence of the impact of social media on children’s mental health. Unrestricted use [of social media] by younger children risks being very damaging to their mental health. So I have asked the [UK] chief medical officer [Sally Davies] to bring forward formal guidance on its use by children.’

The dangers of social media and smartphones has been highlighted by the Irish Daily Mail for almost two years. A number of schools across the country have banned smartphones having seen the risks they pose to their pupils.

In an interview with the Observer newspaper yesterday, senior British politician Mr Hancock suggested that turning off phones at night when children go to bed would be one ‘absolutely standard, straightforward way of limiting the damage’.

The Tory politician said he hopes to ‘empower’ parents and teachers as they struggle to enforce sensible limits. He said: ‘As a parent you want to be able to say, “The rules say you shouldn’t use social media for more than a certain period of time”. This is why we have a chief medical officer: to set a norm in society, make judgments on behalf of society, so that individual schools or individual parents don’t have to decide.’

The UK children’s charity Barnardo’s welcomed the announcement by Mr Hancock over the weekend. Chief executive Javed Khan said: ‘This new guidance will be important in supporting parents and carers to enforce rules for children and young people about when their online time is up.’

Mr Hancock also wants Ms Davies to bring forward guidance on the minimum ages at which young people should be able to use cer- tain sites. Many big social media companies issued advice but did nothing to enforce it, he said.

Concern is growing about the effect of ‘recreational’ screen use on children’s ability to learn and acquire knowledge.

A recent study published in the Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal, based on a survey of children in the US, found higher levels of cognition in youngsters whose ‘recreational screen time’ was less than two hours a day. A separate US study of people aged 18 to 24 found last year that 41% of social media users thought it made them feel sad, anxious or depressed.

Here in Ireland, the Mail has led the Protect Our Kids Online campaign which seek to reduce smartphone use among children and regulate social media firms. Last year, Blennerville NS in Co. Kerry ruled that pupils could not use digital devices in school. This term, Clarecastle NS in Co. Clare is drawing up an agreement with parents which will limit the use of smartphones in pupils’ home.

In May, the Government made a failed attempt to lower the Digital Age of Consent to just 13 years of age – which was stopped in the Dáil following a campaign by this newspaper and others. The Government also dragged its feet on promises to introduce a Digital Safety Commissioner who could regulate social media giants.

NOT all that long ago, anyone raising concerns about the amount of time that youngsters spend online would have been dismissed as a killjoy.

Thankfully, the perils of the internet are now widely recognised. At the extreme end, there is the risk of children seeing the most vile sort of pornography or being groomed by online paedophiles.

But there are other dangers to be taken into consideration as well. There is compelling evidence that excessive internet use causes problems for children’s physical well-being, concentration levels and sleep patterns. Nor can we ignore the groundbreaking research findings of psychologist Jean Twenge, who reached the conclusion that American youngsters are facing into an epidemic of depression, anxiety and even suicide because of over-exposure to the internet.

Meanwhile, most parents are well aware of the family tensions that arise from trying to reduce their children’s screen time.

Now it emerges that UK authorities are to introduce guidelines on social media use amid growing concerns about its impact on the mental health of children.

Speaking at his party’s conference, Conservative health minister Matt Hancock admitted to being ‘very worried’ as a father and said he had turned to experts to draw up official advice for families.

Of course, it goes without saying that we at the Irish Daily Mail will continue with our long-running campaign to make sure that children are protected online. We will also be watching developments across the Irish Sea with keen interest.

It is to be fervently hoped that our political leaders will be doing the same. At the very least, they should be considering the introduction of a similar initiative here.