cheltonian politics
Alex Chalk MPfor Cheltenham Thismonth with...
PEER PRESSURE
CheltenhamMPAlex Chalk discusses his plans to re-start his parliamentary inquiry into what social media companies can do to protect young people
Schools are out, children and young people are basking in the long classroom-freeweeks. As parents arewe certainwe knowwhat they’re getting up to? Previous generations will instantly recognise the sentence: “You’ve beenwatching the television for long enough”. Nowof course it’s “You’ve been on
the games console, i-phone, tablet, laptop, internet for far too long”. The explosion of socialmedia has
given society awonderful opportunity. It’s a genuine revolution. Parents and carersmay whisper it in hushed tones, but sometimes, just sometimes, having your child quietly occupied on e- media can seemlike a relief. There’s a reassurance that they’re safe at home, they’ve got the headphones on and they’re ‘self-entertaining’. Much of the time that’s the case.
But the development of social media has a darker side. As adult’s we have a limited understanding of cyber bullying, of sexting, the spread of extremismand the risks of online grooming. Unlike our children,we’re not natural ‘digital natives’. In a virtual vacuum,many of our children are navigating this ever-changing minefield alone.
30 AUGUST2017 THECHELTONIAN The impact of socialmedia on
adolescentmental health is poorly understood. But the early evidence suggests it can be significant. According to one study, childrenwho spendmore than three hours a day on socialmedia sites have a significantly increased chance of developing poormental health. 20%of our children arewaking up
at night to check phones, texts and messages. Sleep deprivationmeans they aremore likely to perform poorly at school. It also puts themat greater risk of depression and mental ill-health. Young people are so vulnerable to
negative body image. Socialmedia has dramatically increased the
‘Compare andDespair’ pressure. In aworld of selfies, young people are exposing themselves to constant scrutiny and criticism. When Parliament returns in
September, I’mre-startingmy parliamentary inquiry intowhat socialmedia companies can do to protect young peoplewhen using their sites, particularly fromthe scourge of bullying.We'll be taking evidence fromthe big platforms like Facebook, aswell as young people and a renowned 'vlogger'. Improving resilience in young
people, and providing better advice and support for parents about socialmedia is one of the great challenges of our age. It's vitalwe meet it head-on.
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