With a generation that is hooked to social media just as a chain smoker is to cigarettes (no exaggeration), Britain has finally decided to do something about it.
According to Independent, Britain’s health secretary, Matt Hancock has directed the health department to frame a time limit for social media use.
From the past few months, we have experienced efforts by multiple companies to mitigate this addiction as much as possible. Devices like TechDen help parents restrict the screen time of their kids. Facebook and Instagram have come up with tools that do the same.
As a concerned father, Matt strongly feels the need to do something about it before it is too late. He compares this step to the limit set on alcohol consumption. It is no surprise that the situation for the millennials today is this serious.
“I am, as a father, very worried about the growing evidence of the impact of social media on children’s mental health. Unrestricted use [of social media] by younger children risks being very damaging to their mental health. So I have asked the chief medical officer to bring forward formal guidance on its use by children,”
He further added:
“As a parent, you want to be able to say, ‘the rules say you shouldn’t use social media for more than a certain period of time’. This is why we have a chief medical officer: to set a norm in society, make judgments on behalf of society so that individual schools or individual parents don’t have to decide.”
Matt believes that the increasing number of mental health problems especially in the youngsters is alarming enough to instill in us the fear of excessively using social media platforms.
Having thousands of followers on Instagram may look good apparently but it could be detrimental for your mental state in the long run. And don’t even get me started on the social insecurity that these teens are faced with.
All in all, we think that Britain’s move is applaudable. We hope that the other countries think about doing something like this too!