Instagram’s self-harm alerts are not enough - parents need calm conversation

Rachael Newham believes that the new Instagram parental notifications can’t replace the power of patient listening, practical support, and showing God’s love to young people who are struggling to cope

Social media giant, Instagram, announced recently that it is rolling out a feature for its teen accounts (available for 13–15-year-olds) whereby parents would receive a notification if their child had repeatedly searched for content around self-harm or suicide. Previously, there has been no communication with parents, simply links to external websites for support for the user.

self-harm is a topic that remains shrouded in shame and stigma and conversations around it need to be approached with calm and sensitivity - not panic

Whilst some have hailed this as a step forward in protecting the mental health of young people, others, such as The Molly Russell Foundation, have called it a ‘clumsy’ approach which risks panicking parents that their child might be self-harming without equipping them to respond. It is perhaps a step in the right direction, alerting parents allows them to at least be aware that a conversation is needed, but self-harm is a topic that remains shrouded in shame and stigma and conversations around it need to be approached with calm and sensitivity - not panic.

As a young person in the noughties, Instagram was not a part of my adolescence, but self-harm was and it’s important that whilst we recognise the ……