ANY regular reader of my column will know that I am not a fan of social media.
It has its advantages, of course, but there’s growing evidence that it’s proving detrimental to health, especially among the young.
Designed to give users a rush of pleasurable neurotransmitters for every ‘like’, it was intended to be addictive, and has proven to be so.
You only have to walk out on to the streets to see the army of youthful zombies glued to their mobile phones, often walking straight into other people, so intent are they on monitoring every aspect of their and other people’s lives.
With brains and bodies maturing, this addiction may prove positively malign.
A teacher in the constituency recently told me she believes social media has devastating effects on children.
She feared for the future, saying we are breeding a ‘listless generation,’ with no real connection to each other or to their families.
Some schools have banned mobile phones and I wholly support this.
The stories of on-line bullying in schools are numerous and I fear, probably understated.
With mental health problems on the rise, NHS data shows that young girls are the most vulnerable.
Conflicts with friends, fears about body image and pressures created by social media are all to blame.
Alarmingly, the number of girls aged 17 or under who’ve been admitted to hospital for self-harm has risen by 68 per cent over the past decade.
The Government is talking to social media companies to see what can be done to tackle these difficult issues.
But, with many schools delivering lessons and homework on electronic devices, control will not be easy.
The warnings are growing more vociferous and we must listen to them.