Updated 11am
Malta needs a national debate on regulating social media use among children and teenagers, according to a senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official.
Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, WHO Europe’s director for Country Health Policies and Systems, said “it’s time for a public consultation and a discussion” involving educators, healthcare professionals, parents and young people themselves.
Her comments follow an international study which revealed that Malta has one of the highest rates of addiction-like social media use among teenagers. The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey, conducted every four years across 44 countries, found that nearly one in four Maltese adolescents aged 11, 13 and 15 exhibited an addictive-like pattern of social media use. The survey also noted that girls were particularly at risk.
Reflecting on the findings, Azzopardi Muscat said her experience showed that, at times, governments have to intervene in the industry.
“When it comes to the commercial determinants of health – and there is a strong health dimension to social media use – at some point there will be the need for some amount of regulation which may differ depending on culture, context and situation,” she said.
She added that countries with higher impacts of social media on health may have to “intervene more assertively”.
Some countries have already introduced regulations aimed at protecting young users. This week, Norway announced it will enforce a minimum age of 15 for social media, while Australia has announced plans to restrict access for younger teenagers, with an age limit likely between 14 and 16.
Azzopardi Muscat said more research is needed to better understand local social media use among young people and the broader impact on their wellbeing. But research can take precious time, which is why she is advocating for a nationwide conversation to decide if and how to regulate social media to protect young people.
Beyond regulation
Azzopardi Muscat thinks regulation alone is not enough to address the issue. Heavy use of social media is not always problematic, she explained, as some people handle it differently than others and some may benefit from educational content, like history.
Malta’s social media use results must be viewed in a broader context.
“Our youngsters top the charts with being overweight and obese, they have the lowest levels of rigorous physical activity, and 15-year-olds have a higher rate of poor mental health. There seems to be a pattern emerging. When our children are spending more time online, they are spending less on face-to-face interaction and carrying out less physical activity,” she said.
Increasing digital literacy among young people and parents is essential.
“In Malta, we are very fortunate that there is a very long tradition of Personal, Social and Career Development (PSCD), religion and ethics classes – all can be avenues to take the opportunity to empower our young people by giving them the skills and the knowledge,” she said.
This is also needed with educators, healthcare providers and parents.
When it came to parents, she said, surveys of social media use also showed high use among adults and the reality is that children model their behaviour on adults. So, adults too need to control their own use.
“Parents need to be educated on how they can have conversations about digital well-being with their children. Many parents are concerned – they want to limit the use, but they are concerned their children will be left out, which is a real fear as this is where children communicate,” she said.
She recommended establishing family guidelines, which could involve restricting social media use during certain hours or in specific places such as the classroom or at the dinner table. Parents should also understand the content their children are consuming.
Azzopardi Muscat also called for greater transparency and self-regulation from the social media industry, especially in disclosing how algorithms are used and how they influence behaviour.
She stressed that starting the conversation in homes was the first step: “We need to open a conversation and agree on time, place and content. We need to trust our children and equip them – we want our children to rule social media and not for social media to rule them.”
What does the Education Ministry plan on doing?
A spokesperson for the Education Minister told Times of Malta: “It is very clear that in recent years social media use has surged across all age groups, and the findings of this report highlight a particularly concerning situation among Maltese adolescents".
These results, they added, underscored the need for collective action based on educational knowledge and support, which was "definitely needed" outside of traditional school hours.