Queensland's Chief Health Officer is calling on parents to delay their children's use of social media until they're at least 14 years old. Blaming it for what he's calling a self-harm epidemic among young people. WARNING: If this story has raised concerns for you, you can call the below for help: Lifeline on 13 11 14 Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800 Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 Headspace on 1800 650 890
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00:00The Chief Health Officer in Queensland, Dr John Gerrard, is very concerned about rising
00:06mental health problems among young people.
00:09Now, he says that's a national issue, it's a global issue.
00:13In Queensland alone, he says the numbers are clear.
00:15The number of teenage girls aged between 10 and 14 who have been hospitalised for self-harm
00:21has tripled since 2008, so the Chief Health Officer is very concerned about the rising
00:27mental health problems that young people are facing.
00:30And he says there's growing evidence to suggest that it's linked to the rise of social media
00:35and the fact that young people are increasingly using smartphones and social media platforms.
00:40So earlier this year, the Chief Health Officer convened a meeting of mental health experts
00:45to really discuss the challenges that families and the community are facing, because he says
00:50even though those hospitalisations are really significantly concerning, they represent a
00:55small fraction of what the suffering is in the community.
00:59That includes both girls and boys.
01:00And so one of the outcomes of that convening of experts earlier this year was that a public
01:07health alert has gone out today, which is urging parents to delay letting their children
01:13start using social media until they're at least 14 years old.
01:17Now, that is recommended because it's hoped that it will reduce the risk of what children
01:22might face when they're online and using social media accounts, like inappropriate
01:26content, cyber-bullying, and just generally body image issues and mental health issues.
01:32Now, some of the other recommendations that this public health alert that's gone out today
01:36include for families to really have open conversations around the use of social media, and that parents
01:42need to be monitoring what kind of accounts their children are using, who they're interacting
01:47with, and even going and taking the step of really saying, look, there's a curfew.
01:52You can't have social media after certain hours at night, or you can't have your devices
01:57at home.
01:58Now, it's hoped that these measures the Chief Health Officer is recommending will help improve
02:03mental well-being across young people.