Public health doctors recommend social media health guidelines

The HSE should develop guidance on the “healthy use” of smartphones and social media with input from children, teenagers, teachers, parents, and relevant experts, according to a position paper published by Irish public health doctors.

The Medical Independent reported in July that the Irish Society of Specialists in Public Health Medicine (ISSPHM) was planning to prepare a position paper on the potential harms of social media in childhood and adolescence.

The ISSPHM paper notes that while social media use can have health-related benefits through enhanced social connectedness and improved access to health information, there is “emerging evidence” that the harms may outweigh the benefits for certain groups, especially children and adolescents.

Further research is “urgently required” to understand the most appropriate age at which to introduce a smartphone and access to social media, according to the ISSPHM. The Society is calling for a “precautionary approach, given the signals of serious harm”.

Among the Society’s recommendations is a “public awareness campaign about the potential mental health impacts of social media on children and adolescents”.

It also recommends that the HSE develop guidance on the “introduction and healthy use of smartphones and social media”.

Earlier this month, the Government established an online health taskforce chaired by children’s rights advocate Ms Jillian van Turnhout. The taskforce will deliver an interim report within six months and its final report by September 2025.

Meanwhile, the ISSPHM is supporting a petition it has co-authored with the Sudanese Doctors Union of Ireland to urge the Government to increase diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Sudan.

“As doctors and healthcare workers in Ireland we stand in support and solidarity with our Sudanese colleagues and friends and we call on our Government and our elected representatives to advocate at EU and UN level for greater efforts to secure an immediate ceasefire and a long-term peaceful resolution to the conflict,” reads the petition.

The petition also calls on the Government and politicians to increase funding for humanitarian assistance in Sudan and influence other EU member states to do likewise.

The petition is available here: https://my.uplift.ie/petitions/healthcare-workers-united-for-sudan-end-the-humanitarian-crisis-now.