Tejal Somvanshi
Cell or mobile phone is no more a luxury, but an essential item of communications today. According to a rough estimate, about 90% of the population of the world are in possession of some type of a cell. Mostly the people use it as a means of social media. But young persons become addicted to it. This has become a concern for every thinking person.
Recently, Vice Admiral Dr. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of USA, urged action to ensure social media environments are healthy and safe. According to him, while some benefits may be accruing to the user, social media affects the mental health of a young person.
He says, “The most common question parents ask me is, ‘Is social media safe for my kids?’ The answer is that we don’t have enough evidence to say it’s safe, and in fact, there is growing evidence that social media use is associated with harm to young people’s mental health.”
We are social animals. So we would like to communicate with like-minded persons. There is nothing wrong in this attitude. The problem arises when we overdo something. Too much of anything is not good for anybody.
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Hence the US Surgeon General’s guidelines on social media and mental health. The WHO too is worried about it. Their analysis couples data on student mental health. The WHO found negative impact of social media on students’ mental health. Empathy, social anxiety, and overall mental health are the problems faced by social media users among the young population.
COVID-19 Pandemic has imposed a wide variety of unprecedented challenges. One of them is the negative impact of SM (Social Media) on young minds. The ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) analysts were worried that soon the young Indians may be affected by negative impact of social media on their mental health. India is the largest populated democracy and the guidelines issued by the ICMR are more followed in breach than observance.
The US Surgeon General Vice Admiral Dr. Vivek Murthy’s warning about use of social media on mental health of young minds should be taken seriously by all right-thinking persons and implemented in right earnest.
