Stamford Group Raises Alarm Over Social Media Use Among Young People
Concerns Grow as Experts Warn of Impact on Wellbeing, Friendships and Development
A group in Stamford is warning that high levels of screen time and easy access to social media are taking a toll on children and teenagers.
Gemma Holbird from The Conversation Stamford says the issue is creating "a massive impact on their wellbeing" and leading to conflict between friends.
“Children's access to social media is a huge problem."
"It has a massive impact on their wellbeing."
"It causes huge amounts of conflict in friendships."
"It means that they access so easily inappropriate content,” Gemma explains.
She adds that the addictive nature of screen time is stopping young people from doing activities vital for their development.
“Because screen time is so addictive, then they're not able to come off these devices."
"They're not getting outside, they're not reading."
"They're not playing in a way that is so important to develop them as young people into healthy young adults.”
Gemma also warns about the tactics used by social media platforms.
“We've got platforms that are essentially exploiting young people's vulnerabilities."
"Platforms that are deliberately focused on developing algorithms that profit from our young people's insecurity.”
The concerns come after the government announced plans to ban social media access for under sixteens, aiming to protect children from online harms and encourage healthier habits.