‘Teched-up’ middle-class children more likely to suffer mental health problems

MIDDLE-CLASS children are being “raised in captivity” leaving them prone to mental health issues due to a reliance on technology, a leading psychologist has warned.

Prof Tanya Byron, a former government adviser, said she is seeing “more and more” children from affluent backgrounds seeking clinical help.

She said the youngsters were allowed so much technology by their parents that they were being pushed to do their “risk-taking” online.

Speaking at the Parent Zone Digital Families Conference in London, Prof Byron said it was the children she treated from “privileged” and “comfortable” backgrounds, that were more likely to be “teched-up”.

She said: “It is an interesting correlation that children from aspirational families who are cosseted and protected – kids who have all the technology they want and whose radius of play is reduced that they are being raised in captivity so their risk-taking will be online

‘Kids whose radius of play is reduced are being raised in captivity so their risk-taking will be online.’

– these are the kids that we see are also at risk. These are the ones that are really presenting quite significantly.”

Despite challenging the stereotypes of those with mental health difficulties Prof Bryon said she did not see a direct link between social media and children’s emotional well-being.

Her comments came as the Government plans to impose a new statutory duty of care on tech companies to better protect their users – the focus of a Telegraph campaign.

Under current plans, the legal responsibility will be enforced by a new online regulator.

Prof Byron wrote a report on child online safety in 2008 for Gordon Brown’s government.

During her keynote speech at the conference she expressed frustration at the lack of progress there had been since her report was published and said it would take at least two years to set up a new regulator.

Prof Byron also warned that parents could not rely on the government alone to keep their children safe online and they should limit usage. “I think there is a whole lack of boundaries with a generation of parents who want to be their kids’ friends,” she added.