A submission by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges states there should be guidance for doctors on how to spot social media misuse among children.

This suggestion is supported by survey findings from Virtual College, that highlight many young people are already being routinely exposed to potentially harmful online content, often without close parental oversight. Key highlights include:

• 13 per cent reported exposure to content that promotes unhealthy comparisons or contributes to body image concerns
• 10 per cent said their children were victims of cyberbullying and negative comments.
• 1 in 5 millennial parents (25–34-year-olds) say they believe it’s safe for children to share photos of themselves online
• 1 in 10 parents (across all age groups) don’t monitor their child’s internet usage at all

Safeguarding expert at Virtual College, Mary-Ann Round, commented: “As the debate around social media for children continues, a new submission by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges states there should be guidance for doctors and other health staff on how to spot any inappropriate or unhealthy use of social media and online content by young people. Survey findings from Virtual College suggest that many young people are already being routinely exposed to potentially harmful online content, often without close parental oversight.

“According to our parent survey, 13 per cent reported exposure to content that promotes unhealthy comparisons or contributes to body image concerns and 10 per cent said their children were victims of cyberbullying and negative comments. Yet despite growing concern, active monitoring remains inconsistent: 1 in 5 millennial parents (25–34-year-olds) say they believe it’s safe for children to share photos of themselves online, and 1 in 10 parents (across all age groups) don’t monitor their child’s internet usage at all. The findings highlight a widening gap between concern and supervision. Young people are not just using social media; their minds are being shaped by algorithms and influencers and many content streams that adults setting the guidelines may never fully see. If health professionals begin routinely asking about social media use, as top doctors are proposing, it could help uncover the scale and nature of exposure that currently goes largely unmeasured,” added Round.

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Categories: Articles, Broadband, Consumer Behaviour, Research, Social Media

Tags: kids, social media