UK faces ‘wave of radicalised children’ from ‘hateful’ social media, medical leaders warn
Mental health services are inundated thanks to social media apps
Medical leaders have warned of “a wave of radicalised children” from exposure to “hateful, manipulative, addictive and grossly distressing” social media content as part of a Government consultation into the effects of social media.
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A report by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has compared the dangers of social media to smoking, and said it unites clinicians across the country.
They have submitted the report to the Government’s Growing Up In The Online World consultation, which has floated measures such an Australia-style social media ban for under-16s. The consultation closes at the end of Tuesday.
Read more: Social media ban for under 16s 'within months', Starmer says as he announces online safety crackdown
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The report included details of deaths and injuries from self-harm along with children “replicating acts of extreme pornography”, and interests in violence or radicalisation.
In one example from the report, a teenage girl died after being admitted to A&E bleeding heavily having allowed her boyfriend to use knives in foreplay, trying to replicate something they had seen online.
In another, a 10-year-old boy who was addicted to social media became obsessed with gore and murder, and ended up killing a pigeon, the family pet, and even cut open his own arm.
The report also noted that social media could lead to short sightedness and obesity.
Of 132 GPs, more than half saw at least one case of health harm that could be related to tech or devices every week.
Dr Emily Sehmer, a Consultant Child Psychiatrist, said in the report: “Mental Health services are inundated with referrals for children with anxiety, low mood, inattention, sleep disorders, challenging behaviours, violence, and toxic ideology as a direct result of time spent online.
“We are being asked to pathologise a normal childhood response to being continuously exposed to hateful, manipulative, addictive, and grossly distressing content. Children should never have been expected, or allowed, to navigate this world alone.”
Professor Tracy Daszkiewicz, president of the faculty of public health, said: “Children are being exposed to harmful content by design, with algorithm-driven systems built to maximise engagement, often amplifying exposure to cyberbullying, self-harm content, misinformation, harmful body ideals, and other damaging content. These technologies are often driven by commercial incentives, and it is important to understand these powerful drivers.
“They represent a high-value market, creating a structural conflict between profitability and child wellbeing, a pattern public health has confronted before in industries such as tobacco, alcohol and gambling."