Professor Chris Hollis and Dr Elvira Perez Vallejos have co-authored a report, with the Royal College of Psychiatrists, entitled: Technology use and the mental health of children and young people.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists commented about the report in a press release: 'Force social media companies to hand over their data for research into the harms and benefits of social media use, says new report'. The report addresses possible vulnerability factors which may predispose young people towards problematic technology use. Its key recommendation to the government is: 'to urgently review and establish a protocol for the sharing of data from social media companies with universities for research into benefits and harms on children and young people.
The report also provides guidance for children, young people and parents, in addition to the recommendations for government, technology companies, education and clinicians.
As reported in the Royal College of Psychiatrists' press release, Dr Bernadka Dubicka, chair of the child and adolescent faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists and co-author of the report, said: “As a psychiatrist working on the frontline, I am seeing more and more children self-harming and attempting suicide as a result of their social media use and online discussions.
“We will never understand the risks and benefits of social media use unless the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram share their data with researchers. Their research will help shine a light on how young people are interacting with social media, not just how much time they spend online.
“Self-regulation is not working. It is time for government to step-up and take decisive action to hold social media companies to account for escalating harmful content to vulnerable children and young people.”
The data collected would be anonymous and include the nature of content viewed, as well as the amount of time users are spending on social media platforms.
'Force social media companies to hand over their data for research into the harms and benefits of social media use, says new report'.
Technology use and the mental health of children and young people