The potential problems that use of social media can cause among adolescents should not be ignored, a Taipei-based psychiatrist warned after a British report said that Instagram has the most negative “net impact on young people’s health and well-being.”
Released on May 19, 2017, the report was conducted by UK-based charity the Royal Society for Public Health and the Young Health Movement. From February to May that year, researchers surveyed 1,479 people aged 14 to 24 from across the UK.
Participants were asked the extent to which five social media platforms — Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube — made “health-related factors,” such as emotional support, anxiety, depression, loneliness, sleep and self-expression, “better or worse.”
Photo: AFP
According to the report, titled #StatusOfMind, YouTube was the “most positive,” followed by Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram.
Social media use is highest among 16-to-24-year-olds, Chan Chia-chen (詹佳真), a psychiatrist at Taipei City Hospital’s Zhongxing branch, said on Tuesday.
This age group is also at a crucial period for development of self-identity and the establishment of emotional and mental health, Chan said.
While social media can provide young people with a good social network and emotional support, the problems it poses cannot be ignored, she said.
The report showed that insecurities people in the age group have about their bodies and appearance might be exacerbated by Instagram — a platform that prioritizes images, and is commonly used to alter and refine photographs of users, which can amplify negative emotions, she said.
Social media plays a crucial role in today’s society and appears to be more addictive than alcohol or cigarettes, said Yeh Ya-hsin (葉雅馨), director of the John Tung Foundation’s mental health division.
However, despite its negative effects, people can use social media for mental health promotion, providing others with care and support, or even self-management, Yeh said.
In the process of helping adolescents improve their mental health, results can usually only be achieved by empathizing with their thoughts and feelings, she said.
Social media platforms present an opportunity for others to communicate with them on their terms, she said.
Parents who want to be involved in their children’s Internet use should discuss with them about connecting on Instagram or other social media platforms, she said.
They should promise that they only want to share their lives and would not offer too many opinions or comments, Yeh said.
They should show self-restraint instead of expecting to use social media to control their children’s social lives or judge what they see, she said.
If parents notice signs of bullying or inappropriate expressions on social media, they can find opportunities to discuss the matter with their children at home instead of becoming involved in public arguments online, she said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard