Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The National Children's Hospitalhas recently received more child patients with mental illnesses attributed tothe increased screen time they spent during the COVID-19 pandemic when outdoorphysical social activities were limited.

Doctor Ngo Anh Vinh, deputy head of the hospital's Department ofAdolescent Health, said that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the number ofchildren coming to check for mental illnesses related to social networksincreased.

"Many of them need treatment for social media addiction. Somechildren are admitted to the hospital after they have attempted suicide,"Vinh said.

"Currently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) considers socialnetwork addiction and game addiction as a mental illness with consequences thatseverely affect the child's mental and physical health and quality oflife," Vinh said, adding that as long-term consequences, the childrencould even lose integration into the community and society.

Seeing their children using social networks too much during thepandemic, some parents banned children from using phones. In such cases, manychildren reacted very strongly, the doctor said.

"Failing to convince her child, a mother reported beating thechild, who then took sleeping pills to commit suicide. Fortunately, the childwas discovered and taken to the hospital in time," Vinh said.

In another case, after parents installed surveillance cameras tostop their child from playing games and using social networks, the child used ared scarf to commit suicide.

Addiction to social networks greatly affects a child's physicaldevelopment and can lead to skipping meals, playing games online/using theinternet all the time without taking a rest, which can make them sick, tired oreven exhausted, the doctor said.

Children may also have some psychological and mental symptoms suchas emotional disturbance, irritability, fatigue, drowsiness, and indifferenceto everything around them. In some severe cases, long-term social networkaddiction can lead to mental disorders such as anxiety and depression.

"However, at present, many parents are not clearly aware ofthe problem of social network addiction, its consequences and impact. Therefore,authorities need to guide parents to know how to recognise when children areaddicted to social networks, know how to help them use social networksrationally and avoid falling into addiction," said Vinh.

Accordingly, typical signs to identify a child with a socialnetwork addiction include the child's inability to control the level ofinternet use. They are glued to smartphones/computers anywhere and anytime,always give priority to the use of social networks, neglecting things aroundthem, and continue to use them more and more regardless to the consequences orparents' advice.

In social network addiction, when children use too much, the brainwill release endogenous hormones to help them feel happy and comfortable.

The more they use the internet, the more comfortable they feel.The colours and images in the games and movies make them more and more drawninto and immersed in the virtual world.

"These hormones are increasingly produced, making itdifficult for children to resist the use of social networks," Vinhexplained.

“It is necessary to have a strategic plan to help children get offsocial networks or use them effectively, rather than just giving prohibitiveactions or forcing children to stop," Vinh said.

"Disrespecting, forcing, and judging children areinappropriate for this age group. Parents need to spend a lot of time confidingwith their children, making it clear to children about the long-term harms ofsocial network addiction," Vinh said.

"Proper parental supervision, early detection of signs, andunderstanding children's thoughts and aspirations could help children makeappropriate adjustments," Vinh recommended.

Parents and children need to come up with a reasonable andage-appropriate standards for using social networks.

“Children have become accustomed to using the internet a lotduring the pandemic break, so after the pandemic, children need to bephysically active. In the children's free time, children need healthy physicalactivities such as doing sports, going on a picnic, and participating in groupactivities," Vinh said.

Besides physical outdoor activities to replace screen time,children also need social activities which would get them along better withpeople, improve social relationships, and gradually separate them from onlinesocial networks, Vinh said.

In particular, if a child shows signs of addiction to socialnetworks as warned above, parents need to take the child to a medical facility,see a psychologist, receive the right diagnosis and appropriate intervention.

Le Thi Thao, deputy head of the Child Protection Hotline at 111,said over the past two years, the hotline received hundreds of cases asking foradvice and intervention after suffering online abuse relating to socialnetworks.

“For over the last two years, children have accessed and usedsocial networks more and more. Online learning and online entertainment haveincreased and this increases the risk of children being abused in the cyberenvironment," Thao said.

Statistics via Hotline 111 show that, from 2020 to now, morechildren and care givers called to talk about online child abuse. In 2020, therate of online child abuse accounted for more than 2% of intensive counselingand intervention calls. By 2021, the rate was about 3.5% and in the first sixmonths of 2022, the rate has been more than 4%, Thao said.

Nguyen Thi Nga, deputy director of the Department of Childrenunder the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that seeing theincrease of online harm, last year, Prime Minister approved Decision No.830/QD-TTg on the first national programme to protect children online in anattempt to make the internet a healthy and safe place for children to learn,socialise and express themselves.

Vietnam established a network to rescue and protect children inthe online environment including State management agencies, businessesproviding products in the online environment, press agencies and internationalorganisations and social organisations advocating for the protection ofchildren's rights in Vietnam.

"Children face a number of risks and challenges online,especially in accessing inappropriate images, clips and content," Ngasaid, adding that Hotline 111 received many reports on online harm to childrenand immediately checked/verified the content or violations according to theprovisions of the Law on Children, the Law on Cybersecurity or the legal systemof Vietnam.

"We also suggest the Ministry of Information andCommunications and the Ministry of Public Security simultaneously work withnetwork operators. We requested to remove and block all infringing contentaccording to the provisions of Vietnamese law. At the same time, the Ministryof Public Security handles individuals/organisations posting suchcontent," Nga said.

"Prevention is the most important way to protect children ingeneral and to protect children in the online environment in particular,"Nga said, emphasising that communication for a proper understanding amongparents, children and teachers was necessary.

With the boom of information technology today, it is notappropriate to restrict children from participating in the online environment.

"It is important that we create a "digital vaccine"for children so that they can increase their resistance and vigilance, andprotect themselves," Nga said.

Children need proper understanding to identify what content isappropriate for their age, and know what to do when exposed to content andclips that do not comply with the community standards of network operators orthat violate laws, Nga said./.