Technology and Mental Health for Children and Adolescents: Pros and Cons

Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH)

DOI: 10.13056/acamh.22618
Professor Lina Gega, Professor of Mental Health at Hull York Medical School and the Director of the Institute of Mental Health Research at the University of York, and Dr. Hiran Thabrew of the Te Ara Hāro, Centre for Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, talk about the CAMH Special Issue in this Papers Podcast.

Lina and Hiran are two of the editors of the CAMH Special Issue ‘Technology and Mental Health for Children and Adolescents: Pros and Cons’ and they have written the Editorial ‘Control alt delete – technology and children’s mental health’ doi.org/10.1111/camh.12631. There is an overview of the CAMH Special Issue, and their editorial, and the implications for practice.
Discussion points include;

• Evidence into technology’s ability to act as a force of good and also a source of harm for young people’s mental health
• Why minimisation of technology related harm is as important as maximisation of technology related gains
• Need to move beyond dichotomous narratives about technology and how we might achieve a more nuanced stance
• What understandings emerge in terms of gender, diversity, and socio-economic status in relation to techn and mental health
• How collective responsibility can make a difference in the way technology is used to protect and improve mental health
• Whether academics should collaborate with digital companies to improve young people’s mental health
• Advice for CAMH professionals and policy makers.