Queensland chief health officer declares ‘public health alert’ over mental wellbeing of teens

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer John Gerrard has declared a “public health alert” over the rise in mental health issues among the state’s young people, coinciding with the emergence of smart phones and social media.

His comments come a year after alarming data published in his Health of Queenslanders report revealed self-harm hospitalisations for girls aged up to 14 years have more than tripled since 2009.

The report found self-harm incidents among girls under 14 had spiked from 19.1 hospital admissions per 100,000 people in 2008-09 to 70.5 per 100,000 in 2020-21.

Among girls aged 15 to 19 years, hospitalisations for self-harm nearly doubled from 373.6 per 100,000 people to 697.7 per 100,000 in the same period.

While stopping short of recommending legal restrictions on social media use by young people at this stage, Dr Gerrard said: “This is a public health alert.”

Health guide for social media use

Earlier this year, Queensland Health brought together a group of mental health and social media experts to examine the effects of social media on the mental health of young people.

It came in the wake of the “worrying drop in the mental health and wellbeing of young people” identified in Dr Gerrard’s report.

For the first time this week, the Queensland health department has posted detailed guidelines on its website regarding social media use.

“Queensland Health recommends parents limit access to social media for children under the age of 14 years, closely monitor and support children as it is introduced, and restrict time until healthy habits are established,” the guide says.

“We support parents, carers and young Queenslanders to opt for a ‘safety first’ approach to protect the mental health and wellbeing of our young people.”

The department suggests that restricting social media access can include preventing young people from creating their own social media accounts and from using social media without supervision.

The guidelines also encourage parents to engage their children in open discussions about social media content and to ensure their social media engagement is “short in duration, and healthy in content”.

Another recommendation is for parents to ensure there are “no devices in bedrooms overnight”.