Mental health issues on rise since rise of social media

A new study has found that mental health problems have risen six folds among the youngster and children who have been brought up in the age of internet.

Sudhakar Jha | Published: September 12, 2018 6:49 pm

A long-standing mental health condition has risen to unexpected levels among the youngsters brought up in this age of internet © Shutterstock

A research by done University College London, Imperial College London, University of Exeter and the Nuffield Trust has found that the number of children and young people reporting “a long-standing mental health condition” has risen to unexpected levels among the youngsters brought up in this age of internet. The study tracked the trends from 1995 to 2014 to come up to the conclusion.

The paper, published in journal Psychological Medicine, found that in 1995, just 0.8 per cent of four to 24-year-olds in England said they had a long-term mental health condition. And the number rose to 4.8 per cent by 2014. The numbers are a small reflection because of the nature of the study which only detected long-term problems.

Lead researcher Dr Dougal Hargreaves, of Imperial College London and the Nuffield Trust, said in the study, “There are likely to be many reasons behind this striking rise in self-reported mental health conditions. While some of it could be explained by better awareness and a reduction in stigma around mental health, other things such as social media and cyberbullying may well have contributed to the rise in mental health problems among young people. We know that young people say social media has a negative impact on their self-esteem, with almost half of young girls highlighting this in a recent survey.”

Dr Hargreaves added that the rising levels of distress were fuelling a growing crisis in children and adolescents’ mental health services.

“Our study suggests that this need is likely to continue to grow in future. Without more radical action to improve access to and funding for CAMHS, as well as a wider strategy to promote positive mental health and wellbeing, we may be letting down some of the most vulnerable in society.”

As a part of the study, data from more than 1,40,000 individuals between the age of 4 to 24, from 36 different national surveys, was analysed. And it was found that those aged between 16 to 24 were almost 10 times as likely to report a long-term mental health condition in 2014 than they were in 1995, with the proportion rising from 0.6 per cent to 5.9 per cent.

Another author, Dr Max Davie, officer for health promotion for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said in a statement, “As clinicians working alongside mental health services, we have known for some time that there is huge demand placed upon them. With the publication of this study, there is now further evidence of this, it must act as a catalyst for Government to take swift action. As this study highlights, more children are talking about mental health, showing the stigma is starting to shift, but without the services to support growing patient numbers it brings, children are left with nowhere to turn.”

Published: September 12, 2018 6:49 pm

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