Sophie Bloomfield, Youth MP from Guisborough, has also looked into the problem of youth violence.
A youth MP whose campaign is trying to tackle a “tipping point” in young people’s mental health says banning social media for under-16s will not address this and many other issues young people face.
Sophie Bloomfield, from Guisborough, whose two-year term as MYP for Redcar and Cleveland ends in April, is helping to signpost local mental health support and provide a clear pathway where young people can self-refer to services independently and independently.
Its website containing relevant information can be linked through a QR code that can be scanned with a mobile phone. Venues that have signed up and displayed the QR code include the Regent Cinema in Redcar, while many schools are also promoting the ‘Strike the Stigma’ campaign.
The government is looking at the possibility of banning social media for under-16s – following countries such as Australia – and has also issued guidelines to parents of under-5s to limit screen time. Sophie has previously helped carry out research as part of the Youth Select Committee looking at the links between social media and youth violence, a report that will eventually be presented to 10 Downing Street.
She said: “Instead of facing the issues and how social media can fuel them, you sweep them under the taboo carpet. When someone rejoins social media on their 17th birthday, they don’t have the tools or knowledge to know how to react to negative situations.”
“Yes we need to hold big tech companies accountable and make social media a safe place for young people, but I don’t think an outright ban is the way. We don’t need less policy, we need lots of small solutions for things that are complex and detailed and work for different people.”
The former Lawrence Jackson School pupil has just completed her GCSEs and is now studying Spanish, Chemistry and Biology at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington. She said, from her own experience and from the perspective of friends, young people she spoke to in the area, many “reached a crisis situation before their well-being needs were taken care of”.
A QR code (inset) linking to Sophie Bloomfield’s website is being screened at the Regent Cinema
“My aim with this project is to allow young people to access reliable well-being information, choose a service that they feel can best support them, and access support wherever, whenever, and however they want it,” said Sophie.
The 16-year-old added: “There is a lack of access to mental health support for young people, particularly in rural areas like Redcar and Cleveland. The campaign is also about getting people to talk openly about mental health.
“I reached out to a few services [for the campaign] And met with some, and collection [of services] What we got at the minute is really great, it’s a wide spread of different treatments and therapies. They have participated in every stage of development of this project.”
The UK Youth Parliament was established 25 years ago and is made up of over 300 young people between the ages of 11 and 18. It provides opportunities to bring about social change through meaningful representation and campaigning.
Sophie in Downing Street(Image: UGC)
Young people vote for their MYPs in elections every two years, held in 70% of constituencies, and often in schools. Funded by a grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the UK Youth Parliament brings young people into the policy-making and parliamentary process, with direct access to decision-makers.
Once a year, the House of Representatives is entrusted to its elected members to discuss their interests and those of their peers. MYPs produce a charter, but unlike MPs, they are not tied to political parties.
Sophie said that while politics was a part of her life because it “affects everything we do”, her immediate aim was to focus on her A-levels and get the necessary degrees to study biomedical sciences at university as she is interested in modern neuroscience. “It’s about seeing where my education takes me, enjoying it, branching out into different things, and ‘Stigma Attack’ will still be a part of it,” she said.
Did you know you can make Teesside Live the best Teesside news source on Google, which means you get more of our latest news, exclusives, and must-read stories instantly? Here is more information About what it means and how to do it – you can also do it through Click here.
For the latest Teesside news delivered to your inbox every day, sign up to our free newsletter
#Youth #antibody #health #stigma #campaign #banning #social #media #wont #work