Qld youth suicide rates spark calls for urgent social media crackdown

The latest tragedy to rock a Queensland school has sparked a chorus of experts demanding tougher action against social media giants.

Parenting expert Dr Justin Coulson

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Urgent action to hold social media giants accountable for damage to youth mental health and better anti-bullying policies in schools are needed to prevent more Queensland children being lost to suicide, advocates and experts have warned.

The issue of youth suicide has been thrust into the spotlight after the death of All Hallows student Stella ­Medeiros-Hodge, while in NSW it’s been revealed a six-year-old girl raised the alarm about her sister, 10, dying by suicide earlier this month.

Australian Catholic University Institute of Child Protection Studies professor Daryl Higgins said every suicide was unacceptable and devastating for families, schools and for the community.

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“For governments to sit by while we have such high rates of mental ill health, of self-harm, suicidal behaviour and completed suicides, we know that more needs to be done to address prevention, and ­unfortunately, governments haven’t had as much focus on that as I think they need to,” Professor Higgins said.

Suicide is the leading cause of death among Queensland children aged 10 to 17, according to the latest Child Death Review Board annual report, with the rate of suicide among the cohort increasing over the past five years.

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All Hallows’ School in Brisbane is the latest to be rocked by tragedy.

Already this year, 10 people under the age of 18 have died from suspected suicide in the state as of the end of May, according to Queensland Mental Health Commission data.

Psychologist Justin Coulson, a parenting expert seen on TV show Parental Guidance, warned the trajectory of youth suicides would not change unless more was done to address the mental health of children.

An important first step will be the federal government’s social media age ban set to come in from December 11 – a significant law change limiting social media accounts to people aged 16 and over prompted by The Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail’s Let Them Be Kids campaign.

The age limit is due to apply to popular platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook, but a review of the plan is considering if YouTube should also be captured having initially been exempted due to its educational uses.

“The federal government is absolutely right to bring in minimum age legislation to support families in their efforts to keep their children safe from what online platforms bring into their lives,” Dr Coulson said, adding the first step to addressing youth mental health was a long conversation about how to keep kids safe online.

“The simple fact is we’re not doing enough and this is an important first step, but it is only a first step.”

Federal Communication Minister Anika Wells declined to comment out of respect for the Medeiros-Hodge family’s request for privacy.

Dolly’s Dream CEO Sally Sweeney said bullying was an ongoing issue in schools and there was a “lack of support” in how to deal with the issue.

Originally published as Qld youth suicide rates spark calls for urgent social media crackdown