Social Media is making children lonelier, new report

According to a new report from a child support group, children are feeling more lonely and insecure due to the excessive use of social media.

The most recent set of statistics have come from Childline, a helpline dedicated to address mental or psychological issues that children may have. The data shows that the number of issues that children are nowadays reporting is increasing at an alarming rate of 14% year-on-year. The report shows that it received 4,636 cases of loneliness related counselling last year and many of these cases were being reported as a result of using social media, The Independent reports. The number had gone up from 4,063 in just a year’s time.

“Recently I’ve been feeling really isolated and alone. I see all my friends having a good time on social media and it gets me down, I feel like no one cares enough to invite me”, The Independent quoted a boy who had called Childline over a loneliness related concern.

Childline is an NSPCC-run helpline service which is being accessed in huge numbers, especially in the UK. The helpline is aimed at counselling young children so that they don’t get mentally ill. The support service is still in a pre-funding mode which is looking for funds to scale up its services across the globe.

The problems that the usage of social media is causing among the new generation are very common and popular. There have been very distinct opinions with experts pointing out that excessive use of social media might cause people to go into the feeling of jealousy, mutual hatred, and even loneliness. Apple CEO also very recently said that social media is no good for kids.