HARLOW MP Robert Halfon highlighted to students the problems caused by social media, when he visited Harlow College recently.
Mr Halfon said he was worried about the effect this form of communication was having, particularly on the mental health of young people. He said, “I {once had a} thirteen-year-old girl crying, saying that she can’t get off tick tock. She wants to but she’s just hooked on it all day and all night.”
Mr Halfon also mentioned the issue of cyberbullying, sharing the stories of people who, after getting home from school, are cyberbullied on WhatsApp. He stated that there isn’t enough information available to parents to protect their children from unsafe internet activity.
He suggested a two per cent tax on social media companies could be used to provide mental health help and classes on how to use social media.
Mr Halfon said that, due to the isolation and boredom that prolonged quarantining had caused, the lockdown had been “a disaster” for the mental health of young people.
However, he added that he appreciated the advantages of social media, which he used to advertise his apprenticeship programmes for young people.
Milla Sweett-Heals