This 1.5-hour online debate brings together leading experts to examine whether age-based social media bans are an appropriate policy response to concerns about children and young people’s mental health.
Building on the recent Child and Adolescent Mental Health debate issue, “Social media in children and young people – time for a ban?”, the session will bring together contrasting perspectives on the role of social media in youth mental health, the strengths and limitations of prohibition-based approaches, and the broader regulatory, clinical and public health responses that may be needed.
Confirmed speakers: Dr Katrina Champion, Scott Fatt, and TBC. With Chair Professor Bernadka Dubicka.
Register for the Event & Pricing
Sign up at this link or on the Book Now button at the top of the screen, and complete the form that follows. You’ll then receive an email confirmation and a link to the webinar, plus we’ll send you a calendar reminder nearer the time.
Delegates will have exclusive access to recordings for 90 days after the event, together with slides. Plus you will get a personalised CPD/CME certificate via email.
- ACAMH Members MUST login to book onto the webinar in order to access this webinar and get a CPD/CME certificate.
- Non-members: this is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer, and make the saving on these sessions.
| Ticket Type | Price |
|---|---|
| ACAMH Members (Online, Concession) | £15 |
| ACAMH Learn Account Holders | £15 |
| Non Members | £15 |
| ACAMH Undergraduate/Postgraduate Members | £15 |
| LMIC Members | Free |
About the session
Contributors will consider arguments for precautionary action, concerns about enforcement and unintended consequences, and alternative approaches focused on safer platform design, digital literacy, harm minimisation, and young people’s rights and wellbeing.
Each perspective will be given time to outline its core arguments, followed by a moderated discussion and live audience Q&A. The session will support participants to engage critically with current evidence and policy debates, and to reflect on their implications for clinical practice, families, schools, and child and adolescent mental health services.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Outline key points in current debates about age-based social media restrictions and youth mental health.
- Compare different perspectives on whether social media bans are an appropriate and effective policy response.
- Consider the potential benefits, limitations, and unintended consequences of prohibition-based approaches.
- Reflect on broader clinical, educational, public health, and regulatory responses to social media-related risks for children and young people.
Who should attend
The primary audience for this session would be mental health practitioners and academics.
Meet the Speakers
Professor Bernadka Dubicka qualified in medicine and psychology at the University of London, completing child psychiatry training and her thesis in adolescent depression at the University of Manchester. In 2022 she was appointed as a professor at the University of York. She was an adolescent unit consultant for over a decade, and since then has worked as a community consultant. Previously, she was chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Child and Adolescent faculty, which involved national policy advisory and media work, as well as leading on the impact of the ecological crisis on mental health and online safety, which are ongoing interests. Her other main research interest is in mood disorders with expertise in large depression trials. She is the chief investigator of the National Institute of Health Research multi-site BAY trial of web-based Behavioural Activation in young people with depression (2022-26). She was appointed as Editor in Chief (EIC) of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Journal in 2020, having previously been deputy EIC.
Dr Katrina Champion is an Associate Professor in the Sydney School of Public Health and a member of the Matilda Centre, a Flagship in the Faculty of Medicine and Health. She is Program Lead of Adolescent Risk Behaviours and Mental Health Research at the Matilda Centre and holds a prestigious Sydney Horizon Fellowship focused on innovative approaches to improving the physical and mental health of Australian adolescents. Dr Champion works at the intersection of disease prevention and mental health, with a focus on the bidirectional relationships between poor mental health and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours. She develops, evaluates, and disseminates digital interventions to improve both physical and mental health in adolescents.
Scott Fatt is a clinical psychologist and PhD candidate at Western Sydney University. His research focuses on disordered eating and body image concerns, particularly in relation to athletes, males, and the impact of social media.