A study by teachers Eiko Fried (University of Leiden) and Margarita Panayiotou (University of Manchester) questions the idea that the ban on social networks is beneficial for the mental health of young people. According to their conclusions, no serious evidence makes it possible to establish a direct link between the use of these platforms and a significant deterioration of the mental well-being of adolescents. The results of the available research are often contradictory, biased or simply too weak to decide the question.
Factors influencing the mental health of adolescents
The researchers rather point to other elements as being determining: the quality of family relationships, the conditions of education or the social environment in which young people evolve. This is why they favor an approach based on support and education, rather than a pure and simple banishment. Training adolescents in critical use of social networks, teaching them to identify problematic content and managing their screen time are levers deemed much more effective.
Social networks as support spaces
The study also recalls that digital platforms can play a positive role in the lives of certain adolescents. This is particularly the case for young LGBTQ+, who sometimes find support on these networks that they cannot obtain elsewhere. Prohibiting access to these spaces would be to deprive these users of a form of social bond which contributes to their balance. Researchers therefore alert to the possible edge effects of too radical a measure.
Towards an educational approach rather than repressive
For Eiko Fried and Margarita Panayiotou, it is not a question of denying that social networks pose challenges, but of refusing shortcuts. Rather than a prohibition policy, they call to empower adolescents and to further involve families and schools. The objective: to build a lucid and peaceful digital culture with young people, capable of preventing risks without sacrificing profits.