Children’s exposure to harmful online content a ‘public health crisis’, says Minister

Children’s exposure to harmful content on social media is a “public health crisis” and stronger laws may be needed to tackle the problem, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said.
He was speaking at the launch of a campaign group which is seeking to ensure young people have a safer online experience.
The “Gen Free: Free to be Kids” is a campaign supported by parents and several organisations which are seeking greater regulation of social media, smartphone-free primary and more funding for public awareness campaigns.
The Gen Free campaign was launched on Tuesday evening at Temple Carrig Secondary School in Greystones, Co Wicklow.
Among the groups present at the event were CyberSafeKids, a charity which works to promote online safety, and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), which has called for social media use to be treated as a public health emergency.
Mr Donnelly, who earlier this month established an online health taskforce, said “just asking online companies to do the right thing and remove harmful content isn’t enough”.
[ Doctors urge ban on ‘destructive’ smartphone use by children under age of 16Opens in new window ]
“It’s why I’ve established the online health taskforce and asked them to develop responses to harms caused by certain types of online activity,” he said.
“This is a public health crisis and I know as a Government we have already responded with legislation and I am determined that if further legislation is needed it will be forthcoming.”
The Gen Free campaign builds on the success of the “It Takes A Village” campaign, also based in Greystones, Co Wicklow, where all eight primary schools and their parents’ associations agreed to a voluntary ban on smartphone use among children.
Initiatives aimed at reducing young people’s use of social media have been gathering pace lately in response to growing evidence of the harm posed by young people’s excessive use of devices and social media.
A quarter of primary schoolchildren and just over a fifth of secondary school students have been “bothered or upset” by harmful content such as scams, harassment, horror or sexual material online, according to recent research by CyberSafeKids.
Minister for Education Norma Foley recently announced a mobile phone ban across second-level schools in response to research which links the use of devices to student distraction and cyberbullying.
While most second-level schools either restrict the use of mobile phones or oblige students to place them in lockers, Ms Foley said it was time to establish a “culture of non-acceptance” of mobile phones at second-level schools.
Ms Foley has also called on social media platforms to introduce “robust” age verification systems to protect primary schoolchildren from inappropriate content such as sexually explicit images and self-harming videos.
The Gen Free campaign is asking primary and secondary schools to register their schools and express support for stronger legislation to protect children online, introduce phone-free schools and education campaigns about the dangers of social media for young people.
The campaign cites research indicating a rise in anxiety and depression since smartphones became mainstream in 2012 as well as a decline in academic performance and less time spent with friends.
Doctors in the Republic are also asking the Coalition to ban mobile phone use for all children under the age of 16.
The IMO said last month that smartphones and the social media content accessible on them were “overwhelmingly destructive” to children.
The doctors’ trade union has urged the Government to treat smartphone and social media usage “as a public health emergency” and said young people are “exposed to a toxic mix of both extraordinarily harmful content”.