Each of our elected Somerset Members of Youth Parliament sits for a term of two years, and this year we saw the end of Emma Brown’s term of office. Emma had an incredible two years, running a fantastic campaign on young people and social media and speaking at the House of Commons among many things. In this article, Emma looks back her campaign and her time as an MYP.
As my time as an Somerset Member of Youth Parliament (MYP) came to a close earlier this year, I managed to address most of my actions.
In some respects, the context for my campaign has shifted significantly since the announcement that the Government are now bringing in a ban on social media for under 16’s.
This is going to be really interesting as, although I don’t use social media myself (out of choice), I do believe it has many advantages for learning and exploration and connectivity. The social media ban is a significant shift and it will be interesting to see what happens over the next two years in particular. Despite the clear benefits of social media, there are numerous aspects of use which cause concern for young people in particular, safety, mental health and fake news.
So, will this ban drive social media access underground for under 16’s, therefore making it more dangerous and unregulated – even harder for young people to discuss issues with adults or ask for help? OR will it turn out to be a positive move and create safer boundaries to protect young people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing?
Despite these imminent changes, I spent the last 2 years trying to gauge young people’s needs around social media and exploring what support and/ or education is accessible where necessary.
1. Research
After researching many sources – BBC, papers, recordings and trying to engage with professional’s and decision makers, from Public Health, the Council, MP’s and the Somerset Safeguarding Children’s Partnership (SSCP), I realised it was much harder to get some people to respond, let alone share any data.
Trying to connect was challenging, with some ignoring emails altogether, despite several attempts. One local MP refused to engage because I didn’t live in Bridgwater, but I wonder if no one locally is actually able to find the capacity to address issues for young people
2. Releasing my Social Media Survey
With the help of the Somerset Youth Parliament members as a steer, I continued on to create a county wide survey to find out how young people really think social media is affecting their mental health.
This survey has played a huge role in my campaign up until this point as it has shaped the direction of my final months as an MYP. It allowed me to compile a list of stats and facts that could have been used to inform decisions made around social media in our local area.
While I tried to share my results with different organisations, I often found that the results are not considered or used at all. This is an obstacle that has been a constant hardship throughout my campaign.
I hope to see this improve in the future as our new fantastic MYPs take office!
The survey results were interesting. From over 400 responses I discovered that according to young people:
- CSM is not as high usage as we think. In fact, young people suggested they spent 2-3 hrs a day on social media
- Taking breaks is an issue
- There’s less cyber bullying than we’re led to believe
- Adults don’t understand how social media works or fully understand the impact
- In some schools/ colleges there are examples of good education and access to online resources – but young people don’t always access support available.
Not as alarming as many of us would have expected, as social media has been used to belittle young people as victims and perpetrators of misuse, abuse and addiction.
3. Resource
I created a resource to share in schools and clubs and although somewhat redundant now, I was able to use it as a foundation presentation tool which I used when I was invited to speak to practitioners at an SSCP Forum
This allowed me to introduce my campaign to many different people online; I had a 15 minute slot where I focused on my aims in my campaign as well as Youth Parliament as a whole. My main message throughout was an attempt to shift the ideas around social media to positive questions such as:
- How can we use social media to help young people?
- What are the positives of social media that we can try and encourage?
Rather than the common:
- Why are young people addicted to social media?
That often creates a negative image around young people that leads to blame around the usage of social media while making young people less likely to seek help if needed.
There were other organisations there who presented, it also allowed me to expand my knowledge on the support that was already out there for young people, as well as what the adults were recommending for support and whether or not this was supported by the recommendations and opinions of young people.
One thing I have learnt throughout my campaign is that often many resources supplied for schools and young people haven’t actually incorporated what young people think, or what they believe is actually helpful.
With the rise of potential bans of social media, I believe that this is such an important point to consider.
We cannot continue to move forward as a society if we keep ignoring the voices of young people in matters that affect them the most.
This is why surveys, forums and discussions with young people are so important!
You can read a copy of the report on my campaign here.
4. In the wider sphere of my school and community I’ve:
- Been a cadet for over 2 years
- I set up a school debate club, been involved in the Politics department and I’ve been active in setting up a school Diversity and Inclusion group, acting as Chair and creating and managing student suggestion boxes.
- I worked with Wells Youth Council to support their projects
- I’ve enjoyed taking extra responsibility, public speaking and seeking roles and opportunities to be inspirational to others
Conclusion
I thought I would take the time to share a few of my favourite moments of my two year campaign on social media and Mental Health. In order to highlight the continual important work that is being done by lots of young people across the UK on a regional and national level in Youth Parliament.
1. Our first annual conference at the University of Warwick.
The annual conference of 2024 was in late October and was the first national meet up of MYPs during my campaign. It was a fantastic opportunity which allowed MYPs to discuss a range of different topics to decide on the subjects that would be debated in the House of Commons.
Some topics that came up were, public transport, health and period dignity; The discussion around period dignity was one that I found very poignant during the discussion groups we were in; It demonstrated how there was an institutional failure throughout our society. I was thrilled when this was voted in as a priority for the national manifesto later in the House of Commons!! It also allowed us to meet and learn about other Youth groups and Campaigns that play such a huge role in elections and campaigns.
2. Our second and final visit to the House of Commons.
Our most recent visit to the House of commons was filled with debating, discussion and meeting up with other MYPs that we have seen throughout our campaigns. While this meeting wasn’t a direct debate (for and against) it was a time for the whole of Youth Parliament to put forward suggestions on how we can best reach our national manifesto targets.
I was proud that I managed to speak at our first House of Commons event on Period Dignity then just as chuffed to be able to speak at the second event on Mental and Physical Health services as this is a very important topic to me and lines up with my campaign. It was certainly a day that me and James (my fellow MYP) won’t forget!
And finally…
To finish, I would also like to emphasise a huge thank you to everyone who has participated in my campaign, whether you have filled out my survey or read an article about my campaign.
I sincerely thank you for your support in trying to help protect youth voices and trying to make sure that it is heard louder than ever in a society that seemingly wants us to be quiet
In addition to this, mine and James’ campaigns would not have been the same without the tireless work of Kate, Paul and the other members of their team. Thank you to everyone!
Emma
