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This analysis is written by  PhD Candidate Julie Blake and

Mental illness in Australian youth is rising. We don’t know why but despite very little evidence, social media is bearing the brunt of the blame.

The Australian Government has responded with bold action: passing legislation to ban social media for under 16s.

This legislation has been widely welcomed, receiving bipartisan support. However, careful analysis of the proposed changes will give pause for thought.

The concerns with a blanket ban are multifaceted. First there is insufficient evidence to show social media is responsible for the increase in youth mental health problems, and second, there are some marginalised young people who benefit from social media. Thirdly, there is a lack of clarity as to what constitutes the definition of social media. Finally, enforcement of the ban is unlikely to be feasible.  

An alternative but often overlooked solution is a public health approach comprising of a framework for preventing harms of social media use while promoting its benefits. Education and awareness campaigns could help increase digital literacy of young people and their parents and caregivers. This would provide individuals with the tools to critically assess online content and in tandem enhance healthy online attitudes. These skills are essential through life and will not be developed through a blanket social media ban.

The Case for Public Health Interventions

Some have suggested digital environments should be treated as an important influence on young people’s health, similar to other social and environmental factors like housing and education.

By adopting a health determinants framework, public health interventions could be applied to delay access to risky online content, reduce usage and develop harm reduction strategies to mitigate potential harms encountered. 

This would involve delaying primary school aged children from possessing smart phones, developing consistent rules between school and home for online activities of school aged children and young adolescents and parenting skills training on supporting online safety of children in the home. 

Parents play a key role in young people’s exposure to digital technology, and today’s parents face an unprecedented challenge of raising the first generation of children immersed in a digital world that they themselves did not grow up in.

A community-wide public health approach could provide greater support and education to families and young people while enabling the flexibility to make decisions that suit their family's unique circumstances.

Education should extend to older Australians as well, many of whom are involved in raising children. Given that digital literacy (including digital safety and wellbeing) is now common place in the , it would surely make sense to ensure that these learnings extend across the whole community. 

Health promotion campaigns could be used to educate families on the harms and benefits of digital environments like social media and inform them about various tools such as monitoring apps that can be used to establish health boundaries.

Simple Solutions Seldom Solve Complex Problems

Around a third of young people now have a diagnosable mental health problem, according to multiple population-based studies^1,2,3. This figure has doubled over the past decade, mirroring a concerning upward trend in mental health problems internationally.

This increase aligns with the infiltration of digital technology into the modern world. However, as is commonly quoted in the research world; “correlation does not equal causation.”

While the impact of social media on mental health warrants attention, its effects on young and vulnerable remains poorly understood.

Other factors likely to be contributing to the rise of  young people’s mental health problems include growing social inequity, , escalating rates of , the , and .

Furthermore, while there are countless studies exploring links between social media use and mental health in youth, evidence on its impact remains unclear.

Many studies, for an example, have relied on young people’s own accounts of how much time they spend using social media as a sole marker of their use. Few studies examine parents’ own social media use and how equipped they are to support their children.

This is why it’s time to invest in high-quality research that can guide future policy and public health efforts that balance minimising risks with maximising benefits.

Ultimately the rise in youth mental illness is complex and there are no simple solutions or single interventions. Governments should invest in rigorously researched public health measures in supporting Australians to navigate the online world safely.

Only through a comprehensive and evidence-based approach can we hope to address the mental health crisis facing today’s youth.

This  is published in Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry

References

1. ABS (2022) National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/mental-health/national-study-mental-health-and-wellbeing/latest-release.
2. Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence (2021) High or very high psychological distress in adults. Available at: https://www.healthstats.nsw.gov.au/r/112634 (accessed 26/04/2024).
3. Wilkins R, Vera-Toscano E and Botha F (2024) The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey: Selected Findings from Waves 1 to 21. Melbourne. Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research.

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