Rajya Sabha member raises concern over social media impact on mental health of adolescents

Expressing concern over social media impact on mental health of adolescents, Congress Rajya Sabha member Jebi Mather Hisham on Wednesday, said the matter needs serious attention by the government.

Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha during the Zero Hour, Hisham referred to an incident from Chotanikara, near Kochi, where a 16-year-old girl allegedly died by suicide as she was under grief following the death of an online friend.

The MP said she spoke with her teacher and the principal this morning, and they shared the concern about how social media is influencing youth and adolescents.

"They share the concern that the children, these adolescents, and youth are not able to identify the reality and the fantasy world. They'll create a virtual world, influenced by social media, and especially they share the concern of this Korean content, online games, and pop that is available in the country now," Hisham said.

In recent weeks, there have instances of young students committing suicide, apparently due to ill-effects, including loneliness and isolation, triggered by excessive use of online platforms.

She also referred to the alleged suicides of three sisters in Ghaziabad, who too had a link with Korean content.

"So all these triggered me to think that the children who should be playing and laughing and learning and acquiring skills from school and teachers while they are taking such extreme steps of suicide," the MP from Kerala said.

The recent data shows behavioural patterns, the cyber bullying, and the tendency to commit suicide, Rajya Sabha member said.