At the informal meeting organised by the Polish Presidency of the EU Council in Warsaw on Tuesday 25 March, the European health ministers deemed it necessary to take measures to remedy the mental health problems of young people who spend too much time in front of screens.
Izabela Leszczyna, Poland’s Health Minister, told the press that “all the ministers and the European Commission have asked for action to be taken at EU level”, because the Internet knows no borders. “We know that this digital world can be dangerous because of hate speech, fake news and cybercrime”, she said.
The European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, Olivér Várhelyi, noted a consensus on the need to protect the younger generation from such attacks. “For that, it’s not enough just to spend on programs. We need the stakeholders. We need the operators of these platforms to help us to eradicate this”, according to the Commissioner.
During this working session, ministers identified the most important problems: addiction to social media and online games, cyberbullying, exposure to harmful content, increased anxiety and depression, intensive use of screens, lack of sleep and physical inactivity. They stressed the need to share best practice at national level, in particular: - collaboration between the fields of health, education, social services and digitalisation; - strengthening the resilience of young people; - banning smartphones from schools; - availability of mental health services; - promoting the positive aspects of digitalisation for mental health (online therapy); - encouraging a greater level of physical activity; - raising parents’ and teachers’ awareness of the dangers of excessive use of social media and games.
Several ministers called for action at EU level, including the exchange of best practice, further research into the impact of digitalisation and social media, accountability of social media providers and the adoption of common standards and guidelines.
The June Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) will adopt conclusions on the mental health of young people in the context of digitalisation. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)